New Beginnings
by Team04Phantom
Summary: Part 2 of the Danny's Story series. As Vlad and Danny begin anew, trying to put the past behind them, new challenges faces the new couple. Gripped between the life he's living and the life he's supposed to live, Danny discovers things don't always seem as they appear. Contains slash, references rape.
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: I do not own Danny Phantom, Identity Crisis or Batman and Robin.**

**Warning: This story contains reference to rape, sexual content, male sex and pedophilia. If any of this disturbs you, please do not read.**

**AN: Sorry for the inconvenience, but the final chapter companion for Bitter UNIONS will not be posted today. I will only update the timeline on my profile page and it will be up tomorrow. I am so sorry for anyone who was waiting for that to be posted. I forgot to write it yesterday when I proofread Chapter 17 and I didn't think to do it today. It will be posted tomorrow. I apologize.**

**Danny's Story, Part 2: New Beginnings**

**Chapter One: Journey**

The days were going by slower now. With the ghost attacks absent, we had a lot of time to kill. I enjoyed the peace, hanging out with Sam and Tucker and my parents were content with my new attitude. I tried not to focus on the fact that this wouldn't last and did a pretty good job at it. After all, I've only just recently started planning ahead. The biggest change occurring in my life, though, was with Vlad. He was actually allowing me to call the shots.

Let me just tell you, I've had sex with the man enough. I just wanted to get to know the real him.

We spent that evening at the house in Elemerton, sitting by the fire and talking. It was easy to forget he was my archenemy because we didn't focus on agendas or hopes for the future. I didn't tell him how I hoped to return the tranquility my town used to feel and he didn't tell me how he hoped to rule the world someday. If we avoided 'business', it could be a beautiful thing.

I sat on my end of the couch following our conversation while Vlad sat on his end. By the looks of us, you'd never guess we were a new couple. I didn't want that yet. I was still trying to adjust to this new life we had decided to venture into but I was trying desperately to not allow the past to obscure my feelings. Deep down, I fought down the feeling that this would end badly and tried to focus on the here and now. Sam has told me since the beginning of this thing that I need to focus on the present and not dwell on the past.

I sighed out loud, knowing it was time to get home. The days I would be able to be home by curfew were dwindling down and I wanted to keep my parents happy for as long as I could. "I've got to be going," I spoke up softly. "I'll see you tomorrow," I asked as I stood up.

"I'd like that," Vlad smiled softly at me. He was a completely different person since the King. I thought I knew every man Vlad was but here he was, introducing me to another version of him.

I walked over to him, fighting back the unease in my stomach. I still refused to believe I was gay but I was willing to give the lifestyle a chance. Vlad wrapped his arms around my waist, a gesture of protectiveness and not possession. Even though I wasn't his bitch anymore, I knew who was the dominate of the relationship. In a normal… I mean straight relationship I was the woman. I reached up and wrapped my arms around his massive shoulders. Our lips touched briefly as I said goodbye. Vlad held onto me a bit longer, forcing me to continue the kiss. It wasn't rough, though.

Finally, Vlad's lips departed from mine and I backed out of the embrace. His taste and his smell became intoxicating and it was my personal drug. I tried to moderate my usage but I had to admit I was hooked. "Goodnight, Vlad," I spoke out of breath, my heart thundering in my head.

"Goodnight, Daniel," Vlad replied, his own voice struggling against his rapid breathing. We both wanted this night to last but I knew I had to get home. I wanted to make this relationship about love; not sex, not magnetism and not human senses.

O_O

I walked in my house two minutes before ten. I passed the living room, seeing Mom and Dad sitting on the couch. They were pleased again and I was happy to give them some peace again. I've never been the wild child type and when my parents gave me an order, I always obeyed it. Since the ghost attacks, I've had to decide what was more important. Of course, respecting my parents is a top priority but protecting my town comes first. It always has and it always will.

"Goodnight," I called, ascending the stairs.

"Goodnight," my mom called to me and I could hear the satisfaction in her voice. I retreated to my room for the evening.

O_O

Thursday started the same way every day starts except the ghost attacks hadn't kept me up at all hours of the night. I picked up Sam and Tucker, went to school, stayed in class, went to detention and went home. It was almost as if I was a normal teenager.

That evening I started thinking. This was all just temporary and I knew that. Soon the ghosts would finish rebuilding their haunts and they would be back to terrorizing my town. It wouldn't be long, either; it was evident in the Zone. I wanted to do something special for Sam and Tucker. They had been through so much with me in the last few months and I wanted to give them something that would express my gratitude.

So that evening when I was with Vlad I told him I wanted to hang with Sam and Tucker this weekend. He didn't seem to mind so before I left, I told him I'd see him Monday.

O_O

Friday, I picked up Sam and Tucker at their houses and walked to school with them. It felt good to just relax and not have to worry about the ghosts. This is almost worth almost dying for… almost. Sam clung to me desperately, the snow pouring down around us. Soon Spring would be here but for now, old man winter was getting one last shot in. Tucker sat bundled in his heavy winter coat and even walked within arm's length of me. By his attitude, I knew it must have been bone chilling cold. Sam wore nothing but her normal sleeveless shirt so she nearly done this every day but Tucker had a good coat on. With this new information, I wrapped my arm around Sam tighter.

When we made it to school, Sam still refused to let go of me. Tucker shook from the cold even inside the building. Students darted inside, their breaths visible. I really underestimated the cold this morning.

"It is going to come an ass deep snow today," Tucker retorted, shaking. "Dude, if you could feel it out there. God!"

"Are you any warmer, Sam," I asked, ignoring Tucker's declaration.

"No-no," Sam protested as I tried to pull away. "Don't let go yet. I need that 200 degrees."

I pulled her in closer, trying to warm her up just a bit. She shook like crazy, her skin pricked with goose bumps. It's a wonder she hasn't developed pneumonia. I think that's what caused her to get sick when we first met Desiree. The weather had just turned to cold that week and she was stubbornly refusing a coat. I hadn't yet started pulling her close in the cold days.

"I was thinking," I started slowly. "With the ghost attacks down, why don't we take advantage of it this weekend and have some fun?"

"What have you got planned," Tucker asked. Sam shook beside me still but less violently.

"Movies, games, bowling, junk food," I listed off some of the things we used to do together.

"Wow," Sam stuttered slightly. "We haven't done that kind of stuff in a while."

"I know," I sighed, "that's why I wanted to do this. Get back to the way we used to be. Anymore, quality time is ghost hunting. That's not the way it should be."

"Come on, D," Tucker waved my guilt away. "You know as well as I do that we have certain responsibilities. It's not only you, Danny."

"That's what I'm trying to say," I groaned. Sam finally started to pull away. "You guys have been dealt this bad hand of cards too and it's not fair."

"Who says this is a bad hand of cards," Sam asked. "To me, we've got the upper hand. Sure, we're not as close as we used to be but as soon as you realize that we can handle the pressures of your life, we will return to normal."

"I think this is normal," I spoke slowly. "So, after school today, we'll start the weekend dedication to Sam and Tucker's awesomeness!"

"You've got to be kidding me," Sam said, her eyes popping open for dramatization. "How about we shorten it. The Weekend to Celebrate?"

"Weekend o' Fun," Tucker chimed in. "It's not a dedication. It's not a celebration. It's just three friends having fun over the weekend!"

I smiled, "I like it!"

"So do I," Sam smiled at Tucker. "Not bad, Techno Geek!"

"Thanks," Tucker brimmed. We started towards the classroom, first period about to begin.

O_O

After school, we decided to allow nothing to chance. We boarded the Specter Speeder and flew into the Ghost Zone, checking on the progress of the rebuild. It was scary how close they were. Because the project had to begin from the inside, progress could be determined from the doorway. A sole rip in the fabric of the Ghost Zone lead into the ghost's haunt and when it would be finished a door would frame that rip. Most of the haunts' entrances' were being framed with a door but the door itself was not solid yet.

Skulker's island was shattered when we checked on it the beginning of the week but now he had the fragments collected and was placing the objects on top. We stopped and chatted for a while but soon we headed for Grandma's and Grandpa's. Sam and Tucker hadn't spoken to them in nearly three months except for that thing with Darcy. Tucker was desperate to see his 'grandparent's' again. It was tricky squeezing them through the rip but I managed to swing it.

"Danny," Grandma greeted me but then saw my friends. "Sam, Tucker," she cried equally as excited.

"Hello, Mrs. Simmons," Sam greeted.

"Hi, Grandma," Tucker declared. Grandma and Grandpa weren't as close with Mom's friends as my parents and Tucker's parents are with Sam, Tuck and I. Dad never called them Mom and Dad and Vlad never called them Mom and Dad. I guess you could say they're Sam's parent's if the Manson's were actually nice people.

"Hello, Tucker," Grandma replied, her smile welcoming but a bit forced. It was weird for her but she was nonetheless kind to Tucker. If she wasn't, well, let me just say we wouldn't be as close as we are. Grandma and Grandpa were trying to adjust to the idea of having a grandson who wasn't a grandson but who was. It's complicated.

"Samantha," Grandpa greeted and Sam stifled a groan. "How are you, my dear?"

"I'm fine," Sam said, a bit stiff. "Please, call me Sam."

"I'm sorry," Grandpa chuckled, a bit embarrassed. "Please forgive me."

"It's nothing, it's just that I don't really like that name. I knew you meant no harm," Sam tried to be as polite as she could be.

"How are things progressing along," I asked as I pulled my tail out and started swishing it backward and forward.

"Slowly," Grandma replied. "The King tore this place to shreds. He was quite pissed." Grandma turned serious and asked softly, "How are you?"

"What do you mean," I asked, confused.

"The word spread around the Zone like wildfire, Danny. You beat the King," Grandma said, chiding me. "You are probably weak, am I right?"

"No," I replied. "I'm fine!"

"Now," Sam cut in. "You should have seen him after the attack. He didn't want to see you when we were here at the beginning of the week because his ghost form was still drained."

"Sam," I cut in. "I'm fine, really. I just lost some energy."

"I heard it was more than that," Grandpa replied. "Rumors went around the Zone that you nearly died. Plasmius," Grandpa said, seething the name, "had to give you energy."

"He did," I replied. "But it's nothing important. I'm fine now."

"What do you mean Plasmius had to give you energy," Sam asked, her head snapping in my direction.

"You guys know I was missing for an entire hour after the town flickered back to reality," I replied. They nodded. "Plasmius started giving me some of his energy. The suit took me down really low."

"Danny," Tucker retorted. "We thought it took you that long to make it to the edge of the town!"

"No," I replied. "I passed out in the castle."

"I can't believe you would keep that from us," Sam seethed.

"He keeps a lot from you," Grandpa said, crossing his arms across his chest.

"That's not exactly a newsflash," Sam said, her voice kind but still displaying the disappointment she had towards me.

"Don't think I don't know what you done this week," Grandpa declared, his glow displaying his own disappointment. "What about the children!"

"What about them," I asked. "You two told me yourselves I couldn't fight this! I always took my dreams with a grain of salt! Why I ever put so much faith in that series of dreams beats me."

"What are you guys talking about," Tucker asked, his eyebrow creased.

"It's nothing," I brushed it off. "So if everything is okay here, we'll be heading out."

"Wait," Grandma interrupted me. "Sweetheart, have you gone to Pariah's Keep since you defeated the King?"

"No," I asked, confused. "Why should I?"

"You're kidding, right," Grandpa asked, his brow creasing.

"No," I replied softly. "What's going on? Why should I return? He hasn't gotten out yet, has he, because I put 25 bottles of Dad's superglue in that sarcophagus on Monday?"

"You did what," Grandma laughed.

"It was overkill, really," Sam groaned. "He didn't want that man getting out any time soon so he took all of Mr. Fenton's superglue to the castle and poured them down the sarcophagus."

"It was not overkill," I objected. "You have no idea how powerful that bastard is! That ring is on his finger still and I wanted to make sure Plasmius didn't try to open that damn thing again!"

"Did anything strange happen when you went inside," Grandpa asked me, getting back to their previous topic.

"Nothing happened," I declared. "We floated into the holding room, I poured the superglue, we left. End of story."

"So you didn't touch the floor," Grandma asked me, her eyes widening.

"No," Tucker declared. "Touch the floor and the booby traps activate!"

"It would for you and Sam," Grandpa answered. "But it wouldn't for Danny."

"What are you talking about," I asked. "They tried to kill me on Halloween!"

"That was before you defeated the King," Grandma replied.

"Okay, spill," I said, getting fed up.

"Honey, what happens in politics when someone dethrones a leader," Grandma asked.

"The government of the entire country is disrupted," I replied. "They seize the country."

"Exactly," Grandpa declared. Am I supposed to get this?

Grandma groaned, "The King was the ruler of this world. After the King was dethroned, the ones who trapped him seized control. When the King escaped and tore up the Ghost Zone, he removed power from the current rulers."

Sam gasped loudly as Grandma continued, "When you defeated the King, you became the next one."

"Oh my God," Sam declared. "Are you telling me Danny's the new King of All Ghosts?"

"Yes," Grandpa replied. My head started to spin. My eyes were burning from the glow pouring off me.

"No," I spoke softly. "No!" I finally declared.

"Sweetheart, there's nothing you can do."

"No," I declared again, my hearing disappearing. The ectoplasm gushed through my veins so fast it pumped in my ears. "This can't be happening."

"Dude," Tucker cried, excitedly, "You're royalty!"

"I didn't defeat the King," I cried, "I just stuffed him away in the sarcophagus. This isn't right!"

"Sweetie, in the Ghost Zone, there are more than one way to defeat someone. The same thing can happen in your world. If someone banishes a ruler or he flees, they still can claim victory."

"But I don't want this," I cried. This can't be happening.

"According to the dream I had, you don't ascend the throne until your eighteenth birthday," Grandpa spoke softly.

"This isn't fair," I declared. "It's not like I don't have enough problems to deal with, now I have to lead the Ghost Zone. Oh, yeah, the other ghosts are going to listen to me alright!"

"They'll have to," Grandma replied. "Or challenge you."

"This isn't fair," I repeated again.

"When is our life fair," Sam spoke softly. I think she got what got me so freaked out. "Come on, Danny. Let's forget about this and enjoy the rest of the weekend."

"Yeah," I replied. "I'll deal with this Monday," I spoke softly. If I deal with it at all.

O_O

"Skulker," I asked, checking his profile on my computer. I kept a version at home because this is where the portal was. "Ghost Zone."

"Ember," Sam replied as I flipped it to her profile. "Ghost Zone," Sam answered.

"Box Ghost," Tucker said, his voice groaning.

"Who cares," Sam and I replied together. I could tell Tucker was thinking the same thing. Even the kids at the school weren't screaming for him anymore. People were ignoring him as well.

"All ghost enemies are captured and accounted for," I reported, locking the program to keep my family out of it. "So that means the ghost-free Weekend o' Fun can begin!"

"All right," Tucker cried. Once my program was locked, a notice popped on screen.

"Hard Drive full," I asked, confused. I brushed it aside. "Let me delete something here so I can free up some space." Scanning my computer programs, a picture of Paulina I had digitally bought a few months ago popped up. "Whoops," I said, knowing it bound to be burning Sam up. "How'd that get there," I asked nervously. I didn't really care about it anymore. I was starting to realize Paulina was so not my type.

"Nice," Sam groaned.

"I am so downloading that," Tucker called, pointing his PDA to my computer and copying a digital copy to him.

I minimized the screen and started to scan through it again. DOOMED. "Oh, here's an old version of DOOMED I can delete," I replied. I also have a copy downstairs in the lab and it's a lot easier to play down there.

I back-clicked the program and deleted it just as Tucker's pleas reached my ears, "No, Danny! That's where you trapped Technus!" By the time he had reminded me that I was indeed on the computer where I trapped the long-winded ghost, I had already deleted the program. Technus appeared on my screen as if he was in a video.

Technus cried out happily, starting his rant. I cursed myself inwardly and blocked his ranting out. Technus charged the computer screen but smacked hard against it. That's weird. He can't exit.

Technus decided that since he couldn't escape to do evil, he'd do evil on my computer. He maximized my digital copy of Paulina and doodled on her face. I groaned, so not feeling like putting up with his crap. "Do you know how many digital downloads I traded for that," I asked. I didn't really care that he destroyed Paulina's picture it's just that I can get some really cool things with that picture. Maybe I can save it later.

I transformed and phased through the floor to the lab. I need a thermos. Surprisingly, I saw the Ghost Catcher sitting suspiciously out in the open. Usually Mom and Dad only pull out old inventions when they tweak them. Oh well, just what I needed and Sam and Tucker are upstairs alone. I grabbed the Ghost Catcher, returned to my room and swiped it through my computer, releasing Technus. He was ungrateful, however, blasting me backwards. I allowed myself to hit the wall.

Technus took control over some wires and used it to wrap Sam and Tucker up. Why the hell haven't they left yet? It makes sense that he would attack them first. Technus fears Tucker more than any one of us and many ghosts have said Sam's more of a threat than I am. Of course, it's only in attitude. I only display my true strengths when they go after somebody else but Sam and Tucker are always that passionate. It's become too ordinary for me to put that much passion into an average attack.

_Get rid of Technus and you save Sam and Tucker_, a voice rang through my head.

Where the hell have you been? You disappear out of nowhere and now you suddenly reappear!

_I've been here_, he replied. _I've just been hanging out, allowing you to take over._

You're the phantom, I objected. Why are you allowing me to lead_?_

_Because you're Danny_, he answered. _You used to be just one person. Now you're two. I don't want that multiplying!_

I became two because of the portal accident. It's not a multiple personality disorder it's just two lives sharing the same body.

"Too bad you can't expunge me and save your friends at the same time," Technus brought me back to reality. Technus had taken control over my computer and using it as a laser. Shoot! Can everyone but me preform that trick?

"Maybe I can," I thought aloud. I done it last week.

_You were also on a power high from that suit,_ Phantom objected.

I concentrated, ignoring his wincing at what I was about to do. I could feel a second subconscious forming but things went horribly wrong from there. Two subconsciousnesses turned into multiple subconsciousnesses. My head swooned from the overload.

"Oh, for the love of Pete, here," Sam declared, out of my sight. I looked up weakly, several images flooding through my head. This is a disaster!

_Told you!_

Sam had pulled the wires that were wrapped around her and Tucker, taking away the power. No technology, no power for Technus. Technus, now beaten, fled from the scene. I pulled myself back together, going over to Sam and Tucker to phase them out of the ropes.

"I'm sorry guys," I replied, my voice low.

"No sweat," Tucker replied. "It's just Technus. We can defeat him blindfolded!"

He had a point. "Let the Weekend o' Fun begin," I declared.

O_O

We didn't see Technus for the rest of the day. When it was time for our movie, Tucker was running a little late. "Sorry," Tucker apologized. "My PDA's been acting a little wonky."

"Wonky," Sam questioned, surprised by his word choice.

I on the other hand had another idea. We had plenty of money, "Why don't you just junk this unit and get a new one?" However, the thing shocked me. I jumped. "Sorry! It was just a suggestion!"

"Looks like we'll never make it to the movie in time," Tucker said, dejected.

"Unless we can find some way to defeat the laws of gravity and time," Sam said, suggesting. I got an evil idea.

"I have just the solution," I declared, running inside. "Wait here!"

O_O

Dad took the bait just like a hungry trout on a June bug. Sam and Tucker clung to their chairs as Dad tore down the road faster than my powers ever dared to carry me. "Are you sure there's a ghost in that movie theater," Dad asked me, tearing down the road.

"Positive," I said, thinking to myself that at least there will be when we get there. Paulina has started a dirty trick lately. I've come to her call (from my 1800 number thanks to my name giveaway) three times and she's told me that there's a ghost now. I'm just pulling one of her tricks. "And if there's not, you can pick us up in two hours and six minutes."

"Previews," Sam declared from beside me.

"Two hours and twenty-six minutes," I corrected. I had another reason for doing this. With the cold and Sam's stubbornness lately, I don't want her getting sick. I could allow her to fly herself but it would still take longer than Dad could on a bad day.

"Good thing I installed the Fenton path finder to find the quickest route there," Dad replied. Sure, Dad. Whatever you say. My ghost sense went off but my mind was quickly drawn away from that fact by the numerous belts that wrapped around us. Sam had the most followed closely by Tucker. I had maybe three. What the heck?

"Dad," I asked, confused. "Is this some kind of safety feature?" I think it's malfunctioning.

"Safety features are for punks," Dad declared. Then who did all this. The RV started flying suddenly and I got a bad feeling. If all the ghosts are in the Ghost Zone… Technus. Sam and Tucker started screaming, the loss of control terrifying them. "Don't worry, kids," Dad declared. "Everything will be okay once I deploy the Fenton Ejectors!"

Dad activated the invention he mentioned and sent all of us into the air. The invention was the same as a fighter pilot ejector seat, parachute included. I pulled the sheet over me, allowing the sheet to protect me. Once I activated the rings and transformed, I took out for Technus.

Technus was in an electronic store (where else? ), building himself the perfect body, again. To my horror, though, the RV was the basis of his body. With all the technology my parents have in that vehicle, Technus could truly be unstoppable. Finally, he stopped adding units and stood there in his glory. This is so not going to end well!

It didn't take him long to throw me through the wall and out of his hair. I landed in the garbage dumpster after having slammed through a brick wall. If I had known he would put that much momentum in that throw, I wouldn't have allowed myself to fly through it. There's another endorsement from the resident ghost boy.

O_O

We were back at my house now and I was trying to figure out what to do. Sam and Tucker sat on my bed, trying to comprehend everything that was going off. I hated how this cut into our time. I've had all week to spend time with them and I blew it. When I try to spend time with them this weekend, I end up causing it to fail before it even begins.

"My ghost hunting life is always interfering with my personal life," I declared, angry with myself.

"You have a personal life," Tucker joked, trying to make the situation light.

"I will now," I declared. I had an idea. It worked once.

_What are you thinking about_, Phantom asked me.

You want to be your own person for once in your life, I asked him.

_Are you thinking what I think you're thinking? The Ghost Catcher._

The Ghost Catcher, I replied at the same time as him.

_In the basement, it separated us and we were able to combine afterward,_ Phantom replied.

What do you say, I asked him.

_Let's do it!_

I transformed into my Phantom form and phased through the floor, leaving an equally confused Sam and Tucker. When I returned, I was holding the Ghost Catcher. "The Ghost Catcher," I declared. "Expunges all things ghostly!"

"I don't know," Sam replied, standing up. "Isn't that a little dangerous?"

"Not really," I replied. "I've accidently used it before."

Sam sighed, "I don't think this is a good idea but I'm not going to talk you out of it so I won't even try."

Sam sat back down on the bed, giving in to my crazy antics. But not today. Today, this was brilliant.

Ready, I asked him.

_Ready,_ he answered. We charged at the ghost catcher and I was ready to see him as a solid person for the first time.

The Ghost Catcher hurt more this time than it did before. In the back of my head, I could hear a second set of screams mirroring my own. As I became more aware, I realized that I was watching it from a third person.

_Forth person!_

Wait a minute, I asked. Are you telling me you're not a real person?

Oh, Phantom has a body but that's not me the same way that's not you. Something went wrong!

It took some time to adjust but I could see out both eyes. I was looking at myself and then I was looking at myself. It's hard to explain. Phantom looked identical but he looked more like the superheroes from comic books. Oh, great.

_You're telling me_!

Then through Phantom's eyes, I could see Fenton. He looked identical to my human form but he was like some kind of party person. His attitude lacked any true responsibility. I've never been that way!

_It gets worse_, Phantom replied. _They're like regular ghosts. They have their own obsessions. Fenton is obsessed with having fun and Phantom is obsessed with, you guessed it, being the hero. They're not us. They're just projections of what we wanted to be when we went through the Ghost Catcher. I don't understand. It worked last time._

Is there any way to reverse this, I asked.

_Not unless we can contact Sam and Tucker. We're just observers. We have no control, not even over our powers._

Great, I replied. So we're forced to sit here and watch these idiots go about, pretending to be us.

_Yes_, he replied, his voice covered by a sigh. _Fenton on the top and Phantom on the bottom_, he continued, talking about how we saw each screen. As the two forms of us looked in different directions, it became less confusing. It's like my sight has been divided in half. It's like dual screens on a video.

"I call the fun Danny," Tucker cried, picking up 'fun' Danny and carting him off. Sam looked about to protest but sighed, defeated.

"Hey," Phantom said, his voice deep and ridiculous. "You wear an awful lot of black to be a superhero sidekick! Have you ever considered bright primary colors?"

You've got to be kidding me. "Tucker," Sam said, turning away from the 'hero.' "Wait up!"

Phantom laughed. _Can't say that I blame her!_

I cringed in horror as Phantom looked in the mirror, changing his demeanor from serious to boosting. I could almost hear the fanfare music that must have been playing in his mind.

_Too bad we can't join her_, Phantom shrieked. _For the love of God, man! Stop that!_

I laughed at his response but I felt the same way. It burns, I chuckled out. I made it sound like what people say in the comedies.

_There's nothing funny about that!_

O_O

'Fun' Danny had went to watch the movie at another show time while 'Superhero' Phantom went looking for trouble. In the top screen, Fun Danny sat slouched in the movie theater. Popcorn sat between his legs and a soda sat in his hand. "This is more like it, dudes. No responsibilities, no ghost fights, no lame super-heroics…" He dumped his soda into the floor purposely.

"No manners," Sam chided in shock. That's what I was thinking.

"Are you going to wipe that up," Tucker asked, giving him the benefit of the doubt, I'm sure.

A man walking down the aisle slipped. I cringed, my ghostly eyes able to detect who the man was. Sam and Tucker on the other hand were not as good at identifying the man.

"Looks like that man's butt done it for me," Fun Danny remarked, humor in his voice. He could identify the man if he gave a damn.

Fun Danny let out a loud belch, not having the self-restraint to hold it in or at least minimize it. Sam and Tucker both gasped loudly, "Danny!"

"What," Fun Danny asked, his voice even sounding lazy. "Lighten up, guys. What can a man with a wet butt do?"

The man pulled out a flashlight, shinning it on the three of them. "Not much," Sam said, identifying him as soon as the light flashed on. "Unless he's the manager."

"You," the man barked at Fun Danny. "Did you do this?"

"So what if I did," Fun Danny asked, looking away from the manager.

"All right, you hooligan. Out!"

"What are you going to do," Fun Danny chuckled cruelly. "Fat ass?"

O_O

_He's a bigger moron than I gave him credit for_, Phantom replied. Security hurled Fun Danny out of the theater, unsurprisingly, as Sam and Tucker followed him out like lost puppies. They couldn't figure out why their friend was so different now. I know them and they bound to be worried. "And stay out," the manager cried as he followed his two security personnel in.

"Relax, guys," Fun Danny remarked. "I'll just phase us back in!" He grabbed Sam and Tucker's hands, pulling them towards the door. When all of them came into contact with the door, all five of us were surprised.

That can't be good, I replied.

"I can't go ghost," Fun Danny declared, upset.

"That's not right," Sam replied. "We should go back to the lab to figure this out."

Yes, we should, both Phantom and I called. We wanted this to end. It was humiliating!

"Or we could go bowling," Fun Danny suggested.

"I call the fun Danny," Tucker cried again. He picked him up again, ready to have more fun. At least he's enjoying himself. This weekend was supposed to be about them.

"Wait," Sam cried but it was too late. Tucker had already packed Fun Danny several feet.

O_O

Phantom on the other hand was having a blast all his own. He, he.

_Nice use of a pun __but__ don't call him Phantom!_

Superhero Phantom, I retorted, was fighting Technus who had attacked the town's power grid. Great, they just got that operational again! He was doing most of his attacks for publicity and not fighting to win. Better?

_Better._

"No distractions, no cumbersome secret identity; more time to dispense my unique brand of ghostly justice. I love it," Superhero Phantom declared. What the heck is cumbersome?

_Beats me?_

"Leaping lightning rods," Superhero Phantom cried dramatically. Okay, Robin! "This looks like a job for Danny Phantom." I thought you were going to say Batman!

_He's putting that image out for everyone to see_, Phantom shrieked. _This is terrible_.

Talk about getting a big head. Everyone will think we're doing this because our status has changed from villain to hero!

_I think I'm going to be sick!_

"You fallacious fiend," he declared. Where the heck is he getting all these words. His vocabulary is bigger than ours.

_Oh, just stop it. You idiot! This is terrible. Why, if I was more than a projection of the real me right now, I'd pummel…_

Phantom continued with his rant. His words also became increasingly dirty.

"Danny Phantom is only half ghost," Superhero Phantom finished his monologue. What are you going to do?

The rings formed but nothing happened once they passed over his body. I sighed a big sigh of relief.

_Oh, you idiotic, deceptive, full of shit moron_, Phantom declared. _Just tell the world your Danny Fenton. That won't cause any problems!_

Okay, Phantom. You need to calm down now.

_This guy is an imbecile. He may have a big vocabulary but that's because he has small common sense… or any kind of sense for that manner. He's a god damned fool!_

I'll just leave you to rant.

I turned my attention to the top screen, leaving Phantom alone as he continued to cuss his counterpart. Man, is he pissed! Sam, Tucker and Fun Danny were bowling now, and they seemed to have fun. This is going to be the longest day of my life.

O_O

Fun Danny enjoyed his free time, doing things I would never do. He even stole Dad's teddy, drooling on it. Oh, for the love of God!

And don't get me started on the window sill and the bird moment. Sam would have a duck calf!

On the television, as shown by Dad, was Superhero Phantom fighting Technus. Fun Danny wanted to meet Sam and Tucker at the peer, the incident less than interesting to him.

Then at the pier, they were enjoying the carnival that had come to Lake Summerset. Fun Danny was relaxing in the front of the rollercoaster, having a blast. You couldn't tell that, of course, but he was too lazy to even show how much fun he was having.

"I could, like, stay on this rollercoaster forever."

It stopped dead in its tracks.

"Looks like you just may," Sam said, her voice hard. Sam was getting fed up. Please, Sam, end this! Okay, what caused this?

On the top screen, Phantom was almost at the same place.

_Superhero__ Phantom, _he declared_. Do not call him my name!_

Superhero Phantom, I corrected. Jeez, this is getting tiresome.

"Wait a minute," Superhero Phantom said, thinking for a moment.

_Can't you hear the rust gears turning?_

I chuckled. "Street car, power lines, power generator. You've been charging yourself all night. Technus Two Point O is a wattage wasting wastrel!" Where the hell does he get these words from?

_And you're a whatever-you-said idiot_, Phantom declared. _You're just now figuring this out?!_

Technus shot Superhero Phantom, sending him flying in another direction.

_You know,_ Phantom said softly_. I think I'm on Technus's side_.

Oh, come on. We have to give the underdog the benefit of the doubt. We almost always win!

_Yeah, well, I don't think he even knows how to!_

I chuckled again. In Fun Danny's sight, Superhero Phantom hurled past him.

"Why couldn't you say supermodels," Tucker objected.

"Did someone say super," Superhero Phantom declared in a big voice.

_All those people_, Phantom gasped in horror. _Oh, I'm going to be sick!_

"Relax, citizens," Superhero Phantom cried out heroically. "Danny Phantom's on the job!"

Now, I think I'm going to be sick!

_If I was real, I'd be throwing up right now!_

"Danny," Sam cried as Superhero Danny flew away. "Aren't you going to do something?"

"What," Fun Danny asked, "he said to relax!"

Suddenly, Fun Danny was yanked out of his seat. I was seeing everything from his perception and he didn't know what happened so I didn't know what happened. We were pulled inside the Specter Speeder, Dad holding our hand.

"Come on, son," Dad declared. "Let's catch us some ghosts!" How the heck did he get the Specter Speeder's keys. I took them from Mom and Dad after Walker arrested me! "You kids will be safer down there," Dad declared, pushing the rollercoaster. With his strength, it slowly started down and gravity took over. Oh, Dad!

Sam and Tucker's screams could be heard but Fun Danny couldn't care less.

Dad flew the Specter Speeder to sit right in front of Phantom.

_Super-__Super__hero Phantom_, Phantom cried. He sounded half-mad.

"You're gonna want to nail him between the eyes," Dad declared and I realized what he was asking Fun Danny to do. Um, Phantom?

_I see. He sees! It's a miracle. He's developed a brain… too bad Fun Danny's about to kill him!_

"Now, waste him," Dad cried happily, swiveling the wheel in front of Fun Danny so that the launcher would be within reach. Ut oh!

Fun Danny looked between Dad and Superhero Phantom, the ghost's eyes the size of quarter dollars. Doing what I would do if I were in this situation with another ghost, he tipped the Specter Speeder to the side, giving Superhero Phantom plenty of time to escape. However, his seatbelt wasn't on so he fell… the hatch sitting wide open. He landed just above the door and I breathed a sigh of relief. The Specter Speeder reared upward as Dad tried to gain control, causing him to fall out of the open door.

Fun Danny screamed and I diverted my eyes. I was only a subconscious so it's not like I could close my eyes. Superhero Phantom was in a hard dive and Fun Danny came into his sights.

"Dueling doublegangers, have you lost your half of our mind," Superhero Phantom declared, furious. He landed him on the ground.

"Dude," Fun Danny retorted, "I'm not the one wearing a bed sheet!"

_Ah ha, _Phantom cried happily._ You tell him Fun Danny!_

Both Danny's screamed and jumped out of the way of a blast. "I'll save you Danny," Dad's voice reached my ears through the screens. His voice had an echo because of it being broadcasted through both of my minds. "Wait," he echoed again. "They're both named Danny! I'll save you son!" Still not precise enough!

"Go," Fun Danny screamed at Superhero Danny as they ran.

"I need your help," Superhero Danny cried.

"Why," Fun Danny screamed as they ran.

"You can get past the ghost shied. I can't turn human," Superhero Danny replied.

Fun Danny held his arms up, "Fine! But I don't know why I'm doing this!"

"It's your duty," Superhero Danny declared as he picked him up and lifted him away.

Fun Danny chuckled, "You said doody!"

This is ridiculous.

Superhero Phantom tossed Fun Danny through the shield and he caught the roof-ladder. Through his eyes, I could see Fenton entering the RV. Superhero Phantom started rocketing blasts at Technus.

"Let's see what I can do to drain his battery power," Fun Danny declared while Superhero Phantom kept Technus busy. All of the needless gadgets started going off, causing the battery to die.

"I'm shutting down," Technus cried, "but how?"

The shield dropped.

"Yes," Superhero Phantom cried. The RV stopped moving. Fun Danny jumped out of the RV. He ran over to Superhero Phantom and they started pushing Technus all the way into Lake Summerset.

_What_, Phantom cried. _Use the damn thermos_!

They're not that smart, I commented as they pushed Technus into the lake. Mom and Dad are going to kill you when they find out you trashed the RV.

"Like, when Mom and Dad ask what happened to the RV, I am so not covering for you," Fun Danny declared. I shook my head… well, I would have if I had a head to shake. He's not exactly your known brother. We're not really twins!

"And it's that kind of attitude that makes you such a disgrace to our family," Super Danny cried.

"Uh, my family," Fun Danny corrected. You were just trying to say you wouldn't cover for him the way a brother would! "You're the full time superhero, remember?"

"Then perhaps it's time to fuse back together!"

_Yes, yes, yes_, Phantom cried, sounding on the verge of hysteria.

Super Danny turned intangible and jumped inside Fun Danny. Finally, this is going to be over.

_What,_ Phantom cried. _No, no, no! It worked last time!_

How come it didn't work, I asked confused. Super Danny is just overshadowing Fun Danny!

_Why,_ Phantom cried, sounding as if he may be crying. _Are we doomed to live like this for the rest of eternity?_

Wait, I declared. Remember when I first grabbed the Ghost Catcher. It was sitting out.

_Mom and Dad upgraded it_, Phantom cried.

We may need to actually pass through it to undo the damage.

_They may never find that out! We need Vlad! He's smart enough to figure this out!_

So are Sam and Tucker, I shot back. This is not over! It will not last until Monday.

_At least I'll know this will end then if it hasn't already!_

It'll be over today!

O_O

The combined Danny's walked the floor, Super Danny disgusted at my bedroom. I know I should have spent more time cleaning but forgive me for having bigger wishes for my free time. "Curse this eternal messy room," Super Danny declared, his deep voice sounding instead of the lazy one of Fun Danny's. "This looks like a job for the vacuum cleaner!" Oh, lord God almighty!

"Danny, are you sure you're okay. You don't seem yourself," Sam asked him. He had told them on the way home in the Specter Speeder that he was okay. Technus wrecked the Specter Speeder after we flew off, my ghost powers much faster than its flight mechanism. It was okay but it had some dents Dad had to smooth out. Of course, Dad blamed me—ghost me, that is.

"Of course I'm myself. I'm," Super Danny started. However, his hands jerked back to himself, Fun Danny reaching inside of himself using Super Danny's powers. Hey, that's a trick I learned!

_Maybe they're becoming more like us as time progresses?_

Maybe, I replied softly.

"Dude, get out of me," Fun Danny declared.

"No," Super Danny roared. "We must merge again at once!"

"We didn't merge," Fun Danny barked. He turned to my mirror. "You overshadowed me!" He pulled his eye socket down and opened his mouth wide, checking his throat. He's not a virus!

_Are you kidding me? This guy is the worst case of bullshit-itis I've ever saw._

I returned my attention to the dual screens, getting disoriented from the sight. Phantom looking at Fenton and Fenton looking at Phantom. It's confusing. And, I barked, don't say it. I called Fun Danny Fenton!

Phantom groaned but said nothing further.

"Something must have gone horribly awry when I tried to duplicate myself," Super Danny lamented. You didn't…

"You didn't duplicate yourself," Sam voiced my exact thought. "You split yourself in half!"

That you got wrong. I created them when I tried to separate something that can't be reversed. Even if I had told Mom and Dad about the accident, which I'm glad I didn't, they couldn't have reversed its effects on me. Nothing can reverse my new DNA profile.

_Then why could we split in half back in October_, Phantom asked the same thing I was wondering.

I'm not sure, I replied. I think Mom and Dad have upgraded it and I believe the only way to reverse this is to pass back through the Ghost Catcher but I'm not sure how it happened the first time.

"Another pass through the Ghost Catcher should fix things," Tucker replied, getting off my bed. He picked up the Ghost Catcher and passed it over their two heads.

_Finally_, Phantom declared. I had a similar reaction.

"Or it could make it ten time worse," Tucker declared, his mind unable to describe whatever he saw. I stared at his face, trying to figure out what had become ten times worse.

"Danny," Jazz's voice came from behind me. Her shriek also formed but still the two Danny's stayed rooted facing Tucker. Come on, one of you! Turn in the other's direction so I can see what happened.

"Danny," Dad's voice boomed from outside my room. Sam and Tucker gasped and ran for the Danny's, Sam grabbing Fenton while Tucker grabbed Phantom. Surprisingly, Sam started pushing Fun Danny. What the heck?

The Danny's reacted to the surprising turn of events, groaning as Sam and Tucker pushed them. What the heck is going off?

_I don't know_, Phantom replied.

"Not both of them," Sam declared. However, the floor groaned the way it does when someone is about to come into my room. Time had ran out. Sam pushed Tucker and Fun Danny in the closet, having no time to allow Tucker to escape the shove.

"Danny, I need-hey," Dad started but turned angry. "What is the Ghost Catcher doing in your room?" Crap. Now he notices all the weapons littering my floor. There is usually a thermos, pistol or pencil box somewhere in my room at all times. "You march that thing back into the lab this instant," Dad declared. Fun Danny groaned, picking up the Ghost Catcher and carting it out of my bedroom. From Super Danny's view box, I saw him open the door. Even more surprising than Sam and Tucker's reaction was the pink arm that I saw. Ut oh.

_I think I know what happened_, Phantom replied, a lump in his throat.

Yep, I replied. We were both too scared to voice aloud what had happened.

As Super Danny closed the closet door, Mom walked into the room. "I swear I don't know what's come over Jazz. Danny, be a dear and go show her that you're all right."

"I'm more than all right," Super Danny declared in his super voice. No, not Mom! She's smarter than a pack of Elephants at a genius convention! "I'm Danny Fenton!"

Mom smiled widely, clasping her hands together. Then a look of confusion fell over her, cocking her head to the side. Stupid, stupid, stupid! Super Danny paid no attention to the light threatening to come on in Mom's mind. You're going to get us killed!

The suspension was building with both Danny's so close to Mom and Dad and I kept switching my eyes back and forth between the view boxes. Both Danny's resembled each other and Mom would know if I was a twin. This couldn't be covered by a pale face and white hair. This would end in the dissection of me on a lab table!

Stupid Fun Danny hadn't finished descending the stairway as Mom's feet passed the squeaky floorboard. She exited my room and I haven't made the pass. Tucker purposely put his beret in Mom's face. "Does this smell funny to you," Tucker asked. Good boy. Still, Fun Danny didn't see the danger.

"Tucker," Mom cried. "I don't have time for this. And we should really do something about that problem dandruff!" Mom removed the hat from in front of her face. "Danny," Mom addressed. "The Ghost Catcher can wait. You need to go check on your sister." No!

Fun Danny groaned, sitting the Ghost Catcher down. He turned around, ascending the stairwell again. Sam and Tucker gasped, crying, "Danny, hide!"

On the screen of Super Danny, he was in the hallway again. What did I miss?

_He called Dad paunchy! Dad ordered him to take the Ghost Catcher to the lab!_

This is impossible! And Dad is so not paunchy!

Fun Danny leaped over the stairway, hitting the floor with ease. Super Danny ran back into the bedroom. Oh, yeah, that'll work.

The doorbell rang, causing Mom and Dad to both declare they'd get it. Dad picked up the Ghost Catcher on his pass to the door. He passed it to me, Mom staring at me strangely. "Take this to the lab immediately!"

"He should check on Jazz, honey," Mom replied. "She was really freaked out!" Sam, Tucker and Super Danny slowly descended the stairs. Tucker waved Fun Danny over and he followed them into the lab, carrying the Ghost Catcher.

O

They were trying to decipher the mystery of the Ghost Catcher when Mom announced, "Good news, kids." Sam stepped in front of Fun Danny and Tucker noticed her plan. Sam and Tucker just barely blocked Fun Danny but his head still towered over theirs. Mom and Dad didn't seem to notice. "We recovered the data recorder box from the RV."

"As soon as we connect it to the house's main data frame, we should be able to determine what happed this afternoon."

No, I screamed.

_Don't_, Phantom cried.

"Dude," Fun Danny declared.

"Dad," Super Danny cried.

"No!" they both said in unison.

But it was too late. Dad connected the connector and the house suddenly sparked alive. Both Danny's stood out in the open, looking in all directions as a glow came over everything in the lab. We just made the entire house Technus's body. This is a disaster.

They both assumed the position to transform, despite being there in front of my family. I guess I would do the same thing. With Technus having control over everything in the house, including the portal, I would need to waste no time. Secret identity or not, priorities must come first. Cords flew out, entangling Sam, Tucker, Mom and Dad. "Going ghost," they cried together. I held my breath.

The power washed over both of them, them both declaring, "Whoa, I can still do that!"

"I'll save them," Super Danny declared. If it weren't for the dual screens, I'd never know who was who. "You deal with the house hijacking horror!" At least he's using core words I know the definition of but I'd still never use that kind of vocabulary.

Fun Danny leaped into the air, attempting to fly through the several floors separating him from Technus. However, his head slammed painfully into the anti-ecto walls of the lab. "Would it be too much to ask for all of my powers back?"

_If he's missing core powers_, Phantom said in shock.

"Eat ghost ray, you evil electrical extinctions," Phantom declared. His hands sparked but nothing more. "Fizzling Phantoms, are my powers diminished as well?" Phantom phased my family out of the wires, declaring, "At least that one still works."

Ghost ray and flying is what Fun Danny has, I declared.

_And intangibility and invisibility is what Super idiot has_, Phantom declared. I laughed.

He's not so bad… just a bigger vocabulary.

_And a smaller nut_.

Brain! Just say brain!

_Right._

Sam and Tucker came to their feet first, ready for a fight. Mom and Dad stood up, weary of me.

"Ghost kid," Mom declared.

"Not now," Sam barked. "Tuck!"

"On it," Tucker said but he had his doubts. This was not going to be easy. You can't beat the Fenton mainframe. Mom and Dad designed it to be infallible.

"You need to evacuate these premises immediately, mortals. It is not safe here," Super Danny declared. Are you nuts? Don't push them!

"What's with you," Dad asked, his head cocking to the side.

"Get them to safety," Phantom declared. He leapt into the air, trying to fly.

_You can't fly, dummy!_

He fell face first.

"I think I'll take the stairs," he declared. He ran up the steps, his speed still superior to my families. I can't wait for this to be over!

On the Fenton-cam, Fun Danny was getting his butt beat by Technus.

_What are you doing, you idiot_, Phantom cried. _Go help Danny_!

I looked back to the screen to see Phantom exit the house. On the upper screen, Fenton came flying down, hitting the concrete. Phantom (the disembodied one) gasped. I looked up to see Fenton in Super Danny's sight. Oh crap.

"Wait," Mom cried. "Where's Danny!"

Light passed Super Danny's sight, "I'm right here, mother!"

"But weren't you just," Dad stated, confused.

Oh, crap, this is not good.

"Mom, Dad," Jazz's voice cried. Both Danny's looked up, seeing her in her bedroom window. "Danny, other Danny!"

Oh, crap, I hissed. I was worried about Jazz but something was nagging at the back of my mind. I stuffed it away, ready to fly after her. However, I couldn't control my body and I had to hope the Danny's would have the same urge. Mom and Dad dashed inside. Crap!

"Jazz," they both cried as they ran into the house. Fun Danny sat up as Super Danny triggered the rings again.

"We have to stop him," Super Danny declared.

"Ha," he scoffed. "Good luck, dude."

"I only have half our powers. We must do it together," he cried again. "it's your duty!"

Fun Danny laughed again. "You said doody twice!"

"Focus," Super Danny cried.

"Tried it," Fun Danny dismissed it. "Didn't work. Back to bowling." Oh, give it up. We're not normal. We can't keep putting this off. Ghost hunting is the only thing that matters. Not family, not friendships, not school. Protecting the lives of this town!

"It'll be fun," Tucker suggested.

"You'll get to hit stuff," Sam added.

"Sweet," Fun Danny agreed. He lifted the four of them into the air, going after the house. Oh, my God, Fentonworks is walking!

O

After dropping Sam and Tucker off in the house and their disappointed sighs, the Danny's went to the roof to fight Technus. At least some part of me is coming out in them. They tried to defeat him but he was too powerful with the house. It was impossible. He was too powerful.

"Multitask this," Tucker cried. They both turned around to see Sam and Tucker wielding the Ghost Catcher, expunging Technus. I groaned. Leave it to Sam and Tucker to figure out what to do.

Technus appeared outside the house, it collapsing on the beaches of Lake Summerset. I looked around, the pier in sight, the carnival packed with its Saturday crowd. Everyone would see my house, unmistakable for my house, miles from where the house should be. Great.

"Then perhaps it's time my ghostly form had a ghostly upgrade as well," Technus called to the sky. Sounds like the same Technus to me.

They both grabbed him before he could fly away but Technus sent them flying backwards. The screens disappeared, becoming a single view. I looked around, noticing the 360 panoramic views. "They did it," I said, hearing my voice echo from being spoken. "I mean I did it!" I put my focus on Technus, knowing the projections of our desires no longer existed. "All right, Technus. You're dealing with me now, the real Danny Phantom!"

"No matter," Technus said. "I'll escape to further my plans!"

"Shouting out your plans again," I asked, sarcasm in my voice. I grabbed his tail again, catching the thermos Tucker tossed me. This is how you defeat a ghost! "That is so One point O!" I declared, sucking him inside.

"This isn't over, child! I'll be back!" Technus disappeared inside the Thermos.

"Way to pull yourself together, Danny," Sam declared, being quite witty if I don't say so myself.

"How did that last pass work anyway," Tucker said, examining the Ghost Catcher. Side one – separate. Side two – merge. Duh!"

I powered down, happy to be one and in charge again. "I'm sorry I couldn't put together that fun Weekend I promised you guys," I apologized. One day was hardly going to fill everything we wanted to do.

"Are you kidding," Tucker said. "This was a fun weekend!"

"Really," I asked, thinking to myself how it wasn't to me.

"We're your friends, Danny," Sam said, coming to stand by me. I leaned against the railings, looking out into the massive lake. "Kicking back or kicking butt!"

Tucker joined Sam and I, both of them leaning to mirror me. "I'm not nuts," Jazz cried. I hadn't heard her previous statement for I was watching Sam and Tucker but I knew what she was talking about. She did see me transform and she's been trying to figure out how I could be in two different places at once. Jazz knows and she's being Jazz, waiting for me to tell her. It's not going to happen.

"Glad to see you in one piece, son," Dad replied as he came up beside Tucker. Mom stood beside Jazz who stood beside Sam.

"Tell us about it," We all three declared, chuckling at the inside joke.

We all were leaning against the railing, looking out at the sunset as it started to cast rays of light across the sky. The snow caused the light to shine brightly. It was a beautiful day, not too cold out. "Now, to work on getting the house back," Dad declared.

"Hey, Dad," I said, looking to my right. "Maybe we can do that after the weekend?"

We all chuckled because that wouldn't work for this town. "How are we going to do that," Sam asked, sitting up.

"How else," I groaned as I slipped away from the railing. I went inside, transformed and phased out of the house via the wall. "Need some help," I asked as Phantom, floating in front of them. Tucker let out a laugh and I tried not to send him the death glare I wanted to. Thankfully, Sam jabbed him in the side for me.

"What are you proposing," Mom asked me, narrowing her eyes.

"For helping me defeat Technus," I replied. "I'll return your house."

"How," Dad asked, narrowing his eyes as well.

"I don't know if you've noticed it or not, but I've got super strength," I said, my voice even. "What do you say? It'd beat the old way."

"Sure," Jazz said, smiling at me. "We'd be honored to be assisted by a hero."

"I'm not a hero," I spoke softly. "I'm just trying to do what is right."

Mom cocked her head to the side but shook her head to clear her thoughts. _It's just a trick_, I heard a small voice. It sounded different.

My eyes widened, my smile unable to be stopped. Someone else's voice! I heard someone else's voice. It's not Mom's but it's not mine either. Yes!

"What are you smiling about, ghost," Dad asked.

"Nothing," I said, still with the smile. "Do you wish to go inside or wait for me at the lot?"

"We're going to follow you with guns trained on you," Mom replied. "That's our house you're carrying. We don't just trust it to anyone… or anything."

"Fair enough," I spoke, placing my hands behind my back. Sam and Tucker crossed over the railing, one hand holding the bar while the other reached out to me. I smirked, grabbing their hands, one in each. I lowered them to the ground gently. "Would you like a lift down," I asked as I approached Jazz again.

"Y-," Jazz started as Mom yanked her back.

"No," Mom cried. "Sam, Tucker, you two are in so much trouble! Now, let's go find Danny, young lady."

"He left," Jazz said quickly. "You remember that he went to go find help. He probably ran back to the house!"

"Okay," Mom sighed. _Why are they always lying for Danny? Is he back to his old tricks_?

O_O

When Mom, Dad and Jazz walked outside, my parents lifted their guns on me. "Okay," Dad replied. "Try anything funny and we'll scatter your cells ten ways to Sunday."

I didn't reply, only phased through the ground. "He done that before," Dad replied as I solidified my hands. Once the house was all the way off the ground, equal to my height, I made myself solid. I carried it back to the lot slowly so they wouldn't be left behind. If I wanted to steal the house, which is ridiculous, I could do so easily. Before they could blink I would be gone.

I lowered the house on its foundation, using my ectoplasm to reconnect everything Technus disconnected when he possessed the house. I landed in front of my parents.

"I owe you a lot," I said. "More than I could ever repay. Thank you for what you allowed me to do with the suit. I am sorry I lost it."

"You're talking about when the town was sucked into the Ghost Zone," Mom declared.

"Yes," I replied. "If it weren't for your suit, I would have never been able to defeat him. I owe you so much and more. If you're ever in need," I replied. I imagined a business card with my team phone number and my ghost name on it. "I'll gladly assist," I said, handing it to Mom. "Thank you so much."

"We owe you a lot too," Sam replied, walking to stand beside me. "So much more than we could ever repay."

"I was just doing my job," I said, my voice having an edge. Do not start this!

_I won't allow them to treat him like a criminal_, another female voice replied. I could almost hear Sam in the voice but it wasn't quite right.

"What happened to my suit," Dad asked.

"I'm not sure," I replied. "The suit drained me until I was barely existing. When I became conscious again, I was out of the suit. I'm so very sorry."

"Maybe it'll turn back up," Mom replied. "All right. Scoot. You helped us; I can't fire on you now." Mom lowered the gun, "Ghost hunter's rules."

I smiled, "Nice to know you obey the rules." I replied. I knew she was responsible for half the rules invented and has shaped the other half at some time or another since her induction to the board of directors. Of course, she wasn't alone. I've had my hands on some of the rules as well.

"Of course," Mom replied. I nodded, taking to the skies.

"We got to go," yelled Sam and Tucker, purposely trying to allow me to hear their message. I could hear it if they whispered it. "Bye," they cried.

O_O

The weekend concluded and school resumed. However, things were different now. I can't focus on my personal life anymore. I exist to protect this town. That's my reason for being. Monday remained ghost free but Tuesday saw the return of the normal ghosts. Two weeks. Two weeks' vacation, one of them spent recuperating.

**AN: Here's the first chapter of New Beginnings. I hope you have followed along from the original. If you are new, this story is a continuation of a series. The first installment is called Bitter UNIONS. It is required to understand this story. These stories contain explicit sex, male sex, rape, pedophilia and language. The following chapters will see more Vlad and more mature material. Readers digression is advised.**

**THIS STORY IS RATED "T" BUT THE FIRST INSTALLMENT IS RATED "M".**


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: I do not own Danny Phantom or the CDs One-X or Taylor Swift.**

**Warning: This story contains reference to rape, sexual content, male sex and pedophilia. If any of this disturbs you, please do not read.**

**AN: Please forgive me for the missed updates. My internet went out just after I posted Saturday (I mean half an hour later!). I hope I can resume my original updating schedule but if I do not post regular, please know that it is out of my control. I take my responsibility to update very seriously but I cannot control when my internet works or when it doesn't. Again, please forgive me.**

**Chapter Two: Little Surprises**

I was sitting in Home Ec. and we had been assigned to cook again. I wasn't feeling too well today to begin with which was odd but I managed to pull myself together. However, as the smell of whatever we were making filled the air, the sickness came on full force. I didn't know what the smell was but all I could tell was it burned my nose hairs. I covered my mouth, unable to manage the nausea anymore. I ran out of the classroom, actually phasing through the outside wall as I had no time to make it to the bathroom.

I came back in and headed to the bathroom, the nausea still not gone but absent enough for me to make it to the bathroom. During my quick stride, I came across Sam and Tucker running to the bathroom. I passed them up as I felt the motion again, barely making it to a stall.

"Danny," Sam and Tucker cried, worried. "Are you okay?"

"I don't know," I gasped, resting on my knees. I threw up in the bowl again, the contents of my lunch staring at me from the bowl. The sight made me sick again and I threw up some more.

"Danny," Sam gasped. "This is not normal. What's wrong?"

"I don't know," I gasped, sitting up. I flushed the commode, walking to the sink. As I ran the water over my face, I spun around. "This is the men's room!"

"So," Sam asked.

Tucker looked uncomfortable beside her but he didn't move to protest or agree.

"The last I checked, you weren't a man," I said slowly. I felt the bile rise. "No, not again." I turned back to the stall, more vomit coming back up. I formed an ecto-bucket, catching the vomit that would have gone in the floor. This is ridiculous.

"You're going to the doctor's office," Sam declared.

"And tell them what," I asked, coughing up more vomit. "I'm a half ghost boy with flu symptoms?" I wretched but nothing came up.

"Danny, we need to do something," Sam replied. "You don't get sick easily. Maybe that pass through the Ghost Catcher messed you up."

"The only thing it did was make me stupider," I replied. I flushed the toilet again.

"Then what is making you sick," Tucker spoke up for the first time. "It can't be the smell… you can't smell anything. You don't get sick unless you've been strained mentally and physically…"

"That must be it," I spoke, stepping out of the stall. "I was stressed. Both mentally and physically. I also had a half of my body that had no ghost powers for an entire day."

"True," Tucker replied. Sam nodded but didn't really understand. She knew there was something that happened through that day but she didn't know what. When I told her about Desiree, I told her it was just me. She doesn't know Tuck and I fought Desiree.

I washed my mouth off and we went back to class. I didn't get sick again so I pushed it aside.

O_O

The next day at school, a bunch of students had started talking about this new vender. He sold contraband CDs and DVDs for steep prices but his merchandise was exceptional. I ignored it to the best of my ability but it was hard to escape. In class, Dash allowed for the CD to be played. He warned Mr. Fuluka in our science class that the CD had cussing but he wasn't allowed to object. Mr. Fuluka sighed but he couldn't do anything about it. In this town, 'no one' was above Dash. 'Only' Paulina could challenge him as she was his Queen. However, she wanted to hear the CD as well so we'd be listening to the music the A-List wanted to hear.

"Great," Sam murmured. "Bubble gum pop."

I smiled at her but the beat caught my attention. It didn't sound like bubble gum pop; it sounded vaguely Three Day Grace-ish. However, I'd never heard this song. Were they releasing another album?

The second track rocked and it was definitely Three Days Grace. The entire class seemed to get into the cut but I was spellbound. That Pain track was exactly how I was feeling. 'I'd rather feel pain than nothing at all.' Look what I've sacrificed to feel pain.

The next track stopped me dead in my tracks. I've felt so challenged and had so many instances where an evil side has threatened to appear. I haven't become the animal he talked about but I've felt him forming. I had to keep him at bay or that song would be exactly like me.

The fourth track caused me to lower my head and try to stay out of everyone's sight. It's Never Too Late was about a moment Sam and I shared together during the first few weeks after the accident. I was fine with it for a few days but before the first week, I started freaking. Sam tried to help me through it but I didn't understand what she meant when she told me to stop holding on to the bitterness. When I met Vlad in November, before I fully remembered the whole picture, I figured it out. If I held onto that bitterness, I'd turn out to be like Vlad. I stopped fighting my destiny then.

The fifth track also reminded me of my life. Tucker said it all when he said soundtrack to our lives. On my Own was supposed to be about a failed marriage but I heard Mom and me in it. One of these days, she's going to become fed up with my lies and I'll be on my own again. I don't think Tucker heard that side of the song. I think he heard how I've alienated Sam and Tucker from my life, trying to protect them.

Sixth track made us laugh. Let's Start A Riot was our fight against the ghosts. We were fed up with them attacking our town and we weren't going to lie down anymore.

Seventh track and I finally found a song that didn't match my life. If you want to get out alive, run for your life had nothing to do with my life. It was a cool tune but not personal.

Eight was wicked but yet again, not relevant. The love song that went along the lines of 'I swear I never meant to let it die,' was a harsh fact of a relationship turned bad. I hoped that no one would ever tell me that they never meant to let it die, but they just didn't care about me anymore.

Nine was life shattering. Well, sort of. Over and Over was undoubtedly the name of the tune. He kept chasing the girl down even though it was a lost battle. That was Sam. I have no other way of explaining it. I kept chasing her down in the last four months and I'm trying to leave her alone but a piece of me is dying without that piece of her. I've never even told her how I feel but in my dreams, I married her. She is every bit my wife as one can get.

Now ten was life shattering. Sam and Tucker laid their heads on the tops of their desks as I just listened to the words. Tears pricked at my eyes as I remembered that day. Damn straight I would not die in front of them. I would do anything in my power to protect them, even change the course of fate. Tucker's hands clasped his mouth as Sam's shoulders shook. It was the portal accident – through and through. We sat in the back of the class, separated from our classmates. They listened to the song, hearing some fictional character. That song was mine and no one else's.

Track eleven was cool but yet again, not mine. Surprisingly, only three have not been mine. Three out of eleven.

Three out of twelve. Oh, my God. 'We are one, we stand above the crowd.' It wasn't just mine… it was Sam and Tucker's as well. It was Team Phantom. 'We get knocked down, we get back up.' The opening said it all. 'Do you think about everything you've been through? You've never thought you'd be so depressed. Are you wondering if it's life or death? Do you think that there's no one like you? We are!'

"Oh, my God," Sam whispered to me. It wasn't much of a whisper. She couldn't contain it.

"I can't believe this," Tucker replied.

"Nine out of twelve," I replied, my eyes wide. "That's a new record."

"Did you hear Track Ten," Sam spoke softly.

"Are you kidding," I spoke. "I lived it."

"My heart stopped," Tucker replied. "That's the accident and the King."

"The King," I asked.

"The bed part," Tucker replied. "You stayed in bed for three days Danny. If you weren't watching your life fly by, then what were you doing."

"I hadn't thought of it that way," I spoke softly. "I just heard the accident."

"Our turn," Paulina cried. "Love the album by the way, Dash."

"It's awesome, isn't it," Dash replied. "Now, on with your girly-girl album."

"Hardly," Star replied. "It's almost time for class to end!"

The kids who didn't have the next class with them (and us who did) groaned. The last thing we wanted to do was hear a girly-girl album.

The beginning of the History/English class, we pulled our desks together. Mr. Lancer gave up trying to stop it. Sam and Tucker sat on the English side, refusing to listen to Mr. Lancer. They could see their half of the board from their seats and if they couldn't, they knew I could. Paulina started up the CD and I could feel myself dying of fluff.

I was surprised by one thing, though. It was unmistakably country. I liked the hard stuff more but my parents are from a country town in Ohio. Country does make it to our mostly urban home every once and a while. I like some of the songs. Country has come a long way since the times of the old timers. Most of it resembles pop in its infancy.

The fifth track did affect me. The song was clearly about a girl who was being mentally abused by her boyfriend (or husband) but I heard this town. The town comes so easily to me, taking the very best of me. I've put my heart and soul into this town and most of the people still make me out to be the bad guy. According to the polls, the town has viewed me as a hero but I know the truth. They think it every time I destroy property. That poll is biased because the response it gets is only to satisfy the A-List. No one wants to be on the A-List's bad side.

The only other one to get my attention was track twelve. The tune reminded me of Sam and Tucker. I'm only me when I'm with them but more importantly, they're only them when they're with me. It works both ways. The opening even reminded me of the meteor shower, how we sat and watched the shower together, just enjoying each other's company. The people at the country club sat surrounded by their space heaters while I kept Sam and Tucker warm. We would always only be ourselves when we're together.

The CD wasn't quite done when the bell rang. Sam hung around as the thirteenth track played, a tune called Invisible. It was another one of her tunes written differently. I couldn't figure out why the song captured Sam. Of all people!

Third period we escaped the CDs but fourth they returned. Sam and Tucker both said a CD followed them in fifth and there was one in gym. Home Ec. had me spending the period in the bathroom again, Sam and Tucker hanging out in the men's bathroom. This time someone tried to come in but they ran him off. Sam and Tucker went to art while I went to music in the last class – none of us got a CD. After detention, I went home.

I walked in the door at Elemerton, sensing Vlad in the kitchen. I dropped my bag on the couch and walked in. We had spent the last week getting closer and now I was comfortable with him. We still hadn't had sex yet but I was approaching that crossroads. My heart became erratic when I thought of it but I forced the unease away. Honestly, I was afraid if I gave that back to Vlad, he'd take advantage of it. Losing this side of Vlad scared me more than I wanted to admit.

"Hey," I replied. The minute I walked in the room, whatever he was fixing for me hit me like a ton of bricks. This wasn't the burning sensation. This was actual smell because I was near Vlad. It was not the same. It was worse… a lot worse.

I darted out the door, my stomach feeling like it was turning inside out and a small bomb exploded. The house was completely flat so reaching the ground was not difficult. I emptied the little contents I had in my stomach but continued to dry heave.

"Are you all right," Vlad asked, placing his hands on my shoulder. I looked up, my stomach twisting.

"Yeah," I mumbled. "I think I'm coming down with a bug."

"We don't get bugs," Vlad responded. "It's impossible."

"I got sick in October," I answered.

"You didn't stay sick long, did you," Vlad replied. His hands started to pull the nausea from my body and Vlad absorbed it himself. "Wow," he responded. "That's not typical sickness."

"You're telling me," I replied, wiping my mouth. I walked inside, turning on the facet. I walked back outside, imagining another sink. I washed my mouth out with the water.

"You're getting good at that," Vlad smiled at me.

"Thanks," I replied. "I just haven't figured out the using the energy without the hands thing."

"You will," Vlad replied. He rubbed my shoulders as I dissolved the sink.

"I'm sorry," I replied, walking back into the kitchen. "I swear it's not your cooking!" I turned off the facet.

"Oh, hush," Vlad said softly. "I know that."

"I just wanted you to know," I said, wrapping my arms around his neck. I thought for a moment. "I think I'll go brush my teeth," I said, pulling away from him.

Vlad chuckled, "All right. If that makes you happy."

"It's just," I paused. "Gross."

O_O

Vlad was hinting but I kept putting off. I didn't want that yet and he obeyed by my wishes. He was a completely different man… and I loved this Vlad. I could speak it in my mind but that's as far as it went. Vlad has told me a few times that he loved me but very few indeed. I kept in mind at all times that it was difficult for Vlad to admit how he felt too. He feared rejection as well… and he had a good reason to. Stop that! I forgave him for that!

After kissing him goodnight, I flew home. It was only five forty five and my tutor had given me my homework for the night. I could skin Vlad alive for that. Even though we were dating now, he still insisted on me being tutored. I hated Mondays and Fridays the most because Vlad used the Plasmius Maxmius to power me down and I took 'foreign languages'. Right now, because I was in Spanish, I was taking French. Vlad said next year I will take advanced Spanish.

I was forging through the kitchen, my mind telling me I wanted something. I couldn't tell what it was (or why I was having the craving) but I was. These things were minor but they had suddenly increased in the last week. Actually, it's been less than a week. Since Monday they have been increasing. Oh! What is it that I want?

_Apple juice, please._

What? It was a female voice. I still couldn't distinguish the voices but I could tell male from female. She asked for apple juice when I wanted to know what I wanted. A ghost? Who's there?

_It's me, silly_, She replied again. _The baby in your tummy._

What are you talking about, I asked. Phantom, is that you?

_May I have some apple juice, please_?

_No, Fenton. It's not me. I think it's a real baby._

That's ridiculous. Where is she at?

_Apple juice_, she cried again. Suddenly, I could taste it. I tentatively took the jug of apple juice and took a swig. The craving was filled immediately.

O_O

"Daniel, what has taken you so long to return," Dr. Reynolds demanded, running my stats. "Your blood pressure is slightly elevated, you have a slight fever and you're clammy!"

"Slight," I asked. "It's double that of a human. I told you this already!"

"No," she barked. "Slightly higher than your usual temperature. You have a Two hundred and two fever."

"That's like a one hundred and one fever for a human," I said, realizing.

"Exactly," Dr. Reynolds replied. "Have you been nauseated?"

"That's why I'm here," I said slowly. "I need you to perform a test and I know you're gonna think it's unnecessary but I'm fearful of something here."

"I'll do anything you want me to do," Dr. Reynolds replied. Yeah, I'll believe that when you say yes.

"I need you to run a pregnancy test on me," I said, my voice soft. Oh, my God, I can't believe I spoke those words.

Dr. Reynolds laughed. "A pregnancy test?"

"I know it sounds crazy but ghosts have both organs. Male ghosts can get pregnant." I paused, looking at her as I pondered to tell her. "I have a vagina."

"What," she asked, confused.

"I call it the sensitive area. It's a small slot that Plasmius… well, when he was hurting me, that was his favorite place."

"What do you mean when he was hurting you," Doc asked. "Has he stopped?"

"Yeah," I replied, smiling.

"I want you to talk to Elaine. This is the most vulnerable stage. You have a chance of falling into Stockholm syndrome," Dr. Reynolds replied.

"What's that," I asked, confused. It sounds familiar.

"It's where the captive falls in love with their captor. The victim depends on everything from their captor so they start to feel they owe it to them to repay them. The devotion they feel to their captor is overwhelming."

"I don't need to talk to anyone," I responded. "And who is she anyway?"

"Elaine Richardson," Dr. Reynolds replied. "The clinic's psychologist."

"I'm not talking to any quack," I declared. "My parents wanted me to do the same thing."

"You don't have a choice," she replied. "Danny, I feel like you are my responsibility. I'll risk breaking the law to make sure you're okay. If you don't go, I will bring in the police."

"What," I barked. "You wouldn't! That would shut down the clinic. Sanchez hates this place as much as any adult does. My mother," I said, my eyes going wide and my voice going high. "If she found out I was here… oh, goodness. There'd be hell to pay for anyone in a thousand mile radius."

"Then go see her," Dr. Reynolds said. "Remove your clothing, put this gown on and hop up on the examination table while I'm gone. If you are not here when I return, I will go looking for you. I imagine you wouldn't be too hard to find – white or black hair!"

I snatched the robe from her as she dismissed herself. Damn, she's thick as thieves in this thing. I undressed and slipped the robe on. Floating up, I took my seat on the examination table. A minute later, she opened the door up slowly. "I'm finished," I replied.

"Okay," she spoke as she opened the door all the way. Dr. Reynolds slipped on some latex gloves, stopping at my feet. "Legs up and spread them," she ordered.

"Oh, you've got to be kidding me," I replied. "Can't you draw blood or something?"

"Not to check your vaginal area," she replied. "You said Plasmius touched that area repeatedly. I want to see what he done to it."

I groaned, "Unbelievable. Don't touch it," I declared. Even as I said it I knew she would touch it. I took a deep breath as I parted my legs.

She immediately started to probe at it. "This is remarkable," she replied. Damn, why does everyone who touches the sensitive area say that! "You're pretty busted up," she replied in a soft voice. "Don't your injuries heal immediately?"

"Normally," I replied. I hissed as she done something else to it. "Easy, would you!"

"I'm barely touching it," she replied.

"That's all it takes," I hissed again. "Ow!"

"You big baby," she grimaced.

"I'm sorry," I hissed again. "I don't feel pain on a regular basis."

"I'm kind of glad," Dr. Reynolds replied. "I've seen some of your battles. You hit buildings."

"That's nothing," I replied. "Hitting a building and some of it burying you—that's a minor something. Ectoranium is definitely a something. It's everything—painful and deadly. I was cut again after you saved me last time."

"You were," She said, her head poking up from between my legs. "Why didn't you come see us?"

"I was with my deceased grandparents. They took me to a ghostly doctor and he took care of it. Believe me when I say I missed you. With Ectoranium, all my senses are heightened. They killed everything the Ectoranium touched on my body, down to the last atom. I felt all of it. Believe me. I missed you."

Dr. Reynolds just looked at me in shock and horror. Finally, a few moments later, she snapped out of it. She went back to probing the sensitive area. After a few minutes, she applied some ointments and closed my legs. She grabbed a needle and drew the blood. Since they performed the tests there, I would have my answer sooner than I wanted it.

O_O

It was fifteen after six and I had half a mind to leave here and go on patrol. Sam and Tucker are waiting for me. I have an excuse. However, my fear and apprehension held me rooted to the place where I sat. Finally, what seemed like an eternity only turned out to be ten minutes. She came in, her eyes hollow. I didn't need to hear the results.

I looked down, my head nodding. All those nights flooded through my mind. Vlad wanted a child and he taunted me. 'You'd better be glad I'm sterile. If I weren't and you got pregnant, you'd die!' I stood up and walked outside. I didn't stop at admissions or address anyone as I passed through. I just walked to the Nasty Burger, the entire two miles.

It was after seven by the time I made it there. I didn't walk at my pace; I didn't even walk at a normal pace. I walked painfully slow. Sam and Tucker were worried sick but I shrugged it off, trying to keep the panic I was feeling at bay. This isn't right. Shut up! Shut up!

I fought a few ghosts but many didn't even attempt it. All the ghosts that I knew avoided me while the ones who were new to the game figured it out quickly. When I was in these moods, I was lethal. I've never killed before but I beat one ghost after Thanksgiving to an entire level lower than his normal range. I guess if magnetism is true, I destroyed a marriage.

That night, Vlad teleported into my room. I usually spent the nights with him now even though the one-o'clock rule no longer held true. Not tonight, though. I couldn't face him.

"Please," I said, turning away from him. I could feel the tears but I stopped them. Shut up! "Go away. Not tonight."

"Is something wrong," Vlad asked. "I know something's wrong. What is it?"

"Please," I said, collapsing on my bed. Tears started to leak from my eyes. Shut up! "I can't!"

The voice was trying to say it. I kept silencing it before it could speak it.

"Daniel," Vlad collapsed to his knees by my bed. "What is the matter? I can't even read your mind!"

I pulled my knees to my chest. I clung to them as I allowed the images to flood my mind. I told Vlad by telepathy that he was going to be a father.

And Vlad handled it the way I knew he would but I hoped that he wouldn't.

"I'm going to be a father," Vlad spoke, his voice exasperated.

"Vlad," I cried, looking into his eyes. "I can't have this baby!"

"I'll be there with you through the entire thing," Vlad replied, the smile on his lips. His excitement caused more tears to flood my eyes.

"Don't you care," I asked, my body shaking. "Is having a child that important to you?"

"What are you trying to say," Vlad asked.

"I want an abortion," I spoke softly. I always called the women who had abortions cowards but I also believed in medical exemptions. I'm one such case.

Vlad smacked me, causing me to roll off the bed. I looked up from the floor in surprise, seeing the man who raped me. I came to my feet, backing away from him. Vlad reached forward, grabbing my wrist in his hand. He shook me, making me lose my balance and he was the only thing keeping me upright. "You will not kill my son!"

"Let go," I demanded. I turned intangible, collapsing to the floor. I came to my feet, pushing myself away from him. "Get away from me," I demanded.

"You are going to carry this child to term," Vlad replied, his eyes hard and cold. "If you threaten my son again, I will take you to the island where you will do this alone!"

"Get out of here," I screamed. I backed myself against the wall, standing slowly. "Leave me alone!"

"You will carry my child to term," Vlad said, his voice hard. "He is the only thing that matters!"

Vlad teleported out of the room and I sank to my knees again. I pulled my knees close to me, feeling the weight of everything. I lost him. He's gone. The man I loved is gone and the man who raped me has returned.

O_O

I was still lying on the floor when my alarm went off. I came to my feet slowly, sinking back down by my bed. I lifted my arm up and smacked the alarm off from the floor. Once the beeping stopped, I snuggled into the mattress.

"Danny," Sam's voice cut into my sleep. "Danny, wake up! We're going to be late for school!"

I snapped my eyes open, coming to my feet. Sam and Tucker stared at me, their surprise increasing.

"I could have almost sworn you were having a dream," Tucker declared. "Are you okay?"

"I'm just going through something," I said softly, wrapping my arms around my stomach. "I don't know what to do."

"Did a ghost attack last night after we left," Sam asked, her eyes searching mine. "Danny, talk to us."

"I don't know how to explain this to you," I whispered. "So many things are entangled into this that I don't know how to say it without hurting you guys."

"This is hurting you," Sam said. "We need you to tell us what is hurting you so we can help."

"I need to get dressed," I said, standing up. "I'll be right back."

Sam and Tucker looked heartbroken but allowed me to go. I couldn't miss today. I swore that I wouldn't allow my personal life to interfere with my mission.

I went to school like normal and I tried to put on a brave front. During fourth period, I looked up from my assignment when feeling began to fill my senses. I put my pencil down, coming to my feet and dismissing myself. I would fight him if he thinks he can come back and smack me around again. I was done being his bitch. He's released me. I won't take that anymore. I picked an empty classroom and waited for him to appear. As much as I didn't want to see him, he would only be here for me.

"Daniel," Vlad walked in, my alternative for flowers in his hands. A few DVDs and CDs laid in a plastic bag.

"What do you want," I asked, turning away. If he thinks he can… oh. Alien Vs. Predator. I turned back around, verifying what I thought I saw. Indeed, it sat in the bag.

"I wanted to apologize for my behavior yesterday," Vlad said, sitting the bag on a desk.

"So you think you can bring some media and I'll forgive you," I said, turning my gaze on him.

"It's a start," Vlad said, his voice hopeful. "Listen, I overreacted. I'm sorry I hurt you." Vlad walked over to me, his hand coming to gently lay on my face. His touch felt like it went through to the bone – the good way. "I've wanted a child for so long and when you told me you were pregnant, I was so happy. Then you said what you said," Vlad said, his voice going soft. "I lost it. I don't know if this was a fluke or if I have a second lease on childbearing. To think you would kill a child made for us…"

"Vlad," I spoke softly. "You understand that this child wasn't made with love, right?"

"Yes," Vlad replied. "But it will be raised with love. Please, can we do this over?"

I leaned into Vlad, giving in to his romancing. My lips graced his as my hands wrapped around his shoulders. Vlad's hands wraps around my head, gently holding me in his arms. The classroom vanished, the house in Elemerton appearing. Vlad's right hand dropped to my thigh, pushing me to the couch. I opened my mouth, taking Vlad's taste and scent in. Vlad's left hand wrapped around my back, holding me up as he leaned into me. This was it.

O_O

I flew back to school after Vlad and I made love. I have to say it was amazing. His caress and his devotion remained within me. We've had sex willingly before but never has he made me feel like the only person in the world. I was still fearful of what was to come but for now, the love he gave me still lingers.

I came home from school that day to find Mom, Dad, and a bored Jazz waiting for me. I dropped my bag to the floor and walked slowly over to the couch. I couldn't be in trouble because as far as I know, I haven't done anything wrong. I came to a slow stop by the couch, looking at my parents and my sister. "Is something going on," I asked, my eyes darting from my mom to my dad.

"Call Sam and Tucker and cancel today's plans," Mom said softly. "We're going to spend the evening as a family."

"Um," I muttered, "What?"

"Mom and Dad want us to spend the evening with them," Jazz groaned. "I had planned on brushing up on my microbiology."

I rolled my eyes. Leave it to Jazz to complain about not being able to study something that wasn't assigned to her. I, on the other hand, had real pressing issues. "Why do you want to do this," I asked.

"So we can spend more quality time as a family," Dad replied.

"But I have obligations I need to complete," I replied, trying to escape this plan.

"You also have obligations to your family," Mom commented.

I took a deep breath. Then I took another one. It didn't help. "I have obligations to my family," I asked, turning to my parents, "but I have to call Sam and Tucker and cancel the obligations I have with them." Mom's eyes diverted from my incriminating ones. "So… Sam and Tucker are no longer family?"

"No," Mom looked up at me in a flash. "No, Sam and Tucker are every bit a part of this family."

"Then why can't Sam and Tucker tag along," I asked, my stare not lessening. We've had countless outings as a family and guess what. Sam and Tucker weren't invited. I'm beginning to become frustrated. Sam and Tucker are more my family than they are presently.

"It's not an attack on Sam and Tucker," Mom began.

"It'd better not be," I said, my stare becoming more like a glare. "They have stuck by my side since the beginning. Even when I didn't deserve them."

"Sweetheart," Mom spoke softly, "they've been lying to us."

"What," I asked, finally allowing my glare to cease.

"Every time we ask them where you are or ask them a question they give us the runaround. I was hoping we could reach a breakthrough," Mom replied.

"Oh," I said softly. "You want to find out what's been going off in my life. Who doesn't?"

"If Sam and Tucker tag along, then they'll just keep you from talking," Dad replied.

"I won't talk anyway," I replied. "I haven't talked to anyone."

"Why," Mom asked.

"I don't want to worry anyone," I replied softly. "I can handle the things going off in my life." I rocked backwards on my heel, refusing myself from saying anything else. My eyes rested on the clock. I need to go to the house or I'll have to go tonight. "Speaking of which… I'm needed elsewhere."

"No," Mom replied sharply.

"You're going with us," Dad replied.

"Oh, come on," I retorted. "I need to go or I'll be swamped tonight!" I had foreign language tonight!

"Won't you be swamped tonight anyway," Jazz said, her expression that of boredom. I know she isn't thinking about what she's saying.

"More so," I spoke softly. Is she trying to allow me to know she knows? Of course she is. She's tired of keeping this a secret.

"What are you doing that obviously only you four kids know about," Mom asked me.

"Jazz isn't supposed to know," I replied. I saw her face drain of color.

"Know what," Jazz said, her voice high. "I don't know anything!"

"See," I replied. "It's only us three kids."

"So Jazz found out but she's keeping it from you," Dad replied.

"That's a good sign," Mom replied. "That means we have a chance of finding out."

"Oh, that is not a good thing," I replied. "And Jazz doesn't know." She sure does but I'm turning her own game on herself.

"Sweetheart," Mom replied, "Either you're trying to fool your sister or you aren't as smart as you used to be."

"Nothing I know is more than I should," Jazz replied, her voice sharp. "If we're going to do this, let's get it over with!"

"Can you give me an hour or two," I asked.

"You have ten minutes," Mom replied, looking at the clock. That's how much time I gave myself to get to Elemerton. I guess I'm calling Vlad to cancel. Great.

"Just know I'm doing this in protest," I replied, walking away. I was so looking forward to spending the night with Vlad. Now, I'll be spending it in tutoring.

"I second that," Jazz replied. She stood up from the couch and I followed her to the upstairs.

Once I was in my bedroom, I pulled my cell phone out of my pocket and dialed the number for the house in Elemerton. I told Vlad to lay the phone on the counter and leave it alone. When I was certain he wouldn't mess it up, I placed the phone on the bed and transformed.

I landed in the living room, Vlad looking at me strangely. "I don't have a lot of time," I replied. I focused and the sound of silence static met my ears. It's working. "Mom and Dad have arranged some kind of quality time together. Want me to open up."

"Then why are you here," Vlad asked, confused. He has no idea what our experience has done to me since then. It's all I can think about.

I moved in towards him, the apprehension in the room so thick you could probably cut it with a knife. "You're not the only one who feels like this," I spoke, closing the space between us. I had fallen for him today. I knew what I wanted. I was scared, of course, but I wasn't scared of him. I wrapped my arms around Vlad's neck. "There's something I need to tell you that I didn't tell you earlier."

"What," Vlad said, his lips a breath from mine. The taste reached out to me and I could feel his arms around my waist.

"I love you," I replied, giving into the temptation. I leaned the rest of the way in and my lips came against his. Vlad returned the kiss, the passion increasing. I fully understood the me of my dream that night. How he could turn so easily against his family. Vlad was my family… my family is now Vlad and our daughter, Lilly.

O_O

I couldn't believe I didn't recognize Youngblood until Saturday night after we returned home from our camping trip. I had believed he was a new ghost until I went home and began to create his profile. I guess where Ember was the one really leading that thing a few weeks ago I blocked out Youngblood but it's still embarrassing. I went to the house that night but returned to Fentonworks so I wouldn't be caught skipping out. Sunday I hung out with Sam and Tucker until noon, spent six hours with Vlad and went on Patrol from six until ten. I started feeling sick around nine-thirty so I decided to stay home. I spent all night in the bathroom though, not getting a wink of sleep. I thought this stuff was supposed to go away in the afternoon.

Monday went like normal at school. I flew to the Free Clinic at five o'clock and had a physical. Dr. Reynolds put me through a battery of tests, more than I ever imagined. She felt my stomach and was appalled from how high my uterus was to my weight gain. I didn't understand her fury until she explained to me that a woman's uterus grows early in pregnancy, up to a thousand times bigger than it usually is. She explained to me that the position of my uterus in my abdomen told her that I was in my fourth month but yet I had gained no weight. According to her, I should be showing by now.

Dr. Reynolds sent me to the psychologist after the test and I reluctantly went. I didn't speak to her once; I just sat in the chair and waited for the session to be over. I said I'd go but I said nothing about participating. That's totally up to me. I don't need this and I was only agreeing to this to prevent the clinic from shutting down and my mother from finding out.

O_O

I walked in the house with a bag of medications. Dr. Reynolds had buried me in prenatal cares, not sure how a man would nurture a child. Vlad was sitting by the fire reading a book as I went into the kitchen. "Hey, Vlad," I addressed as I passed into our kitchen.

"Daniel," Vlad addressed. "I didn't cook anything. Every time I do it seems to make you sick."

"I appreciate that," I replied. I was still reeling from cooking class. Our teacher, Mrs. Powers, finally had enough and left after the King. Most people have decided to stick it out but a few have skedaddled, unable to handle the town being sucked out of this reality. Can't say that I blame them. If I had reason to believe that could happen again, even I might be tempted to follow suit. Of course, I know that situation was a unique situation. That King isn't ever getting out again!

After I put the medication on the counter, I opened the fridge and took out one of the gallons of apple juice. I placed the jug on the counter beside the medication and I turned back to the fridge. I pulled out a few apples from the bottom of the cabinet. Using my ecto-energy, I cleaned the apples and put them in a pan.

"What are you doing," Vlad asked me from the door. I looked in his direction.

"I want some fried apples," I replied, adding grease. I turned on the heat.

"You should have told me," Vlad replied, walking towards me. "Here, allow me."

"You don't mind," I asked. I really wanted a glass of juice.

"Of course not," Vlad replied. He kissed my forehead and gently nudged me out of the way. I allowed him to take over, grabbing a cub from the cabinet.

"Thanks," I replied. I poured me a glass of apple juice. "I finally figured out why I wanted apples for over the last few months. It wasn't frequent but it was the only craving I got."

"My little boy wanted an apple," Vlad beamed.

"Our," I shot back, "little girl wanted an apple."

"Of course," Vlad replied. "Our little boy."

I rolled my eyes. I'll allow him to dream but I know her name, what she will look like when she's three and what she sounds like. She's definitely a girl!

I took a big drink of juice first but then I got to work. I started laying out my dosage for right now. I swear there's enough pills here to start a pharmacy.

O_O

Tuesday followed suit nearly identical to Monday, me coming in to the house. I didn't carry a bag full of medication but I did have a bag in my hand. The psychologist didn't take kindly to my silent treatment from yesterday and asked to see me again today. I thought I was going for something to do with the baby but I was mistaken. She handed me this tote bag full of books. Inside this bag were two ordinary writing tablets and a pack of pens. I was to write down my feelings in the book and we'd communicate that way.

Boy, those people at the clinic are too smart for their own good. Sure, I was free to not talk to them but I didn't have the privilege to remain silent. I would talk to the psychologist one way or another—or else. Why am I so special? They would never jeopardize the clinic's role in this community for anyone else. Even if one adult got their hands on that place, the clinic would be history. They've had to move locations every ten years so that the children who grow up and realize what a menace that place is won't be able to jeopardize its location.

"Hey," Vlad said, spotting the bag. "What's that?"

"A reason to make me talk to the doc," I spoke, aggravation in my voice. It was books and books on studies done on Syndrome and also on studies of the effects being traumatized as a child can do when it grows up. Please, if anything is going to traumatize me, it's being half ghost!

"What doctor," Vlad said, taking the bag from my hand. I tried to hold on to it but Vlad gave me a stern look. Please don't tell me he's going to go all new-father on me!

"From the clinic," I responded. "You remember Dr. Reynolds's," I asked.

"Do I remember," Vlad asked. "From what she was thinking, I have nightmares about her. Luckily, she didn't recognize me. If she had, I surely would be in big trouble."

"Well, she found out that you're not hurting me anymore," I said softly, "and she wants me to talk to a psychologist."

"That's not a bad idea," Vlad replied. "I'm really worried about Stockholm Syndrome."

"What," I said, walking over to the kitchen. "Don't be ridiculous. I don't feel like I owe anything to you. If I wanted to walk away, I could."

"There's more to it than just that," Vlad replied. "Stockholm Syndrome is a complicated disease. It affects everyone differently. You may not experience overwhelming allegiance."

I pulled out the apple juice from the fridge. "I don't feel any allegiance to you," I smiled up at him. I popped the lid off the jug, drinking from the container.

"My point is," Vlad said, his voice firm. "Here! Drink from a glass!"

I removed the jug, "Why? You're not getting any of this!" I turned the jug up, drinking more juice. In the background, I heard his soft chucking.

"As I was saying," Vlad said, putting the glass down. I could hear the clink of the glass against the stone counter. "Something else could force you to stay with me. Something you may not realize. Hell, you may not even realize that you can't leave."

I put the cap back on the jug, putting it back in the fridge. "I can leave you at any given moment," I replied. I picked up an apple, biting in it. "Geez, she loves apples!"

"He," Vlad retorted. I smiled up at him.

"You really want a son, don't you," I asked him. I almost felt guilty. I know I'm carrying a girl.

"I'll love it whatever it is but… yes. I really want a son. An heir," Vlad replied.

"A girl can be an heir too," I replied. I could feel a tiny ping of fear in my gut. Is there a reason I was afraid of Lilly discovering the love I still felt for her daddy? Had Vlad renounced her?

"Of course," Vlad replied. "And if it is a girl, then she will be my heir but I really want a son. I want a junior."

I chuckled, "You want to curse a child with the name Vladimir," I smiled. "In today's times."

"No," Vlad retorted. "I want a Daniel… what is your middle name?"

"You want our child to be named after me," I asked surprised. "It's James."

"Daniel James… sounds like Maddie. I don't know. It sounds all right."

"I don't like it. How about we name it after both of us. What's your middle name?"

"I don't have one," Vlad replied. I stared at him in shock. "My parents only gave me a first and last name."

"Oh," I said, a little awkward. Vladimir just doesn't work in this country. That's more of a foreign name.

"But we could fold in a name like it," Vlad said, hopeful. "Something that still has potential but sounds good in today's world."

I smiled up at him, "I like it. But what about a girl's name. What would we call a girl?"

"I don't know," Vlad said, looking thoughtful. "I'll have to get back to you. But I want you to talk to that therapist."

"What," I protested. "I don't need to talk to anyone."

"Please," Vlad said, wrapping his arms around me. I fought to keep my hand with the apple free. Vlad blocked it, keeping it out of my reach.

"Hey," I protested. "Give me my apple!"

"Not until you promise me you'll talk to her," Vlad said, blocking my attempts.

"Give me my apple and I won't hurt you," I said, trying to squeeze my hand through his arms.

"All you have to do is promise…" Vlad began.

"I'm not promising anything," I said. "Give me my apple!"

"It's simple enough," Vlad teased me.

"That's it," I said. I relaxed my hand, elbowing Vlad in the stomach. Vlad started a combination of a laugh and a grunt. I got my apple though and phased out of his hands.

"Come on, Daniel," Vlad said, ceasing his combined reaction. "I'll go with you."

I bit into my apple, "Okay. I'll go but I'm not talking to her. I hate psychologists."

"Why," Vlad asked, confused.

"Jazz," I replied. "She's done nothing but psycho-analyze me."

"You're afraid of being judged," Vlad asked me, surprised.

"No," I replied. "I just hate people thinking that everything I do is decided by some force. It's like psychologists believe nothing occurs on a whim. I know differently."

"She won't judge you like your sister does," Vlad replied. "And if she does… I'll kill her."

"What," I shrieked. "No! No more killing!"

Vlad looked at me in shock. "I was just kidding. I understand for you to be with me willingly I can't continue my old ways. I thought you knew that."

"It's just that I don't want you to do the bad stuff anymore," I said, leaning into him. "It scares me that the part of you that I hate will return."

"Never," Vlad whispered into my ear. "I'll never hurt you again."

"I hope you mean that," I whispered. "I don't know what I'd do without you."

O_O

Wednesday was a day I was scheduled to see the doctor so Vlad accompanied me. I was so nervous when we walked into the clinic because I hadn't told anyone that Vlad and I were a couple. I know that it will look bad when they find out. Dr. Reynolds only wants me to be safe but there's nothing wrong with me. However, I know she won't see it that way.

We made it through the admission but as soon as Dr. Reynolds entered the room, her eyes narrowed. "What are you doing here," she spat at Vlad.

"I'm here to make sure he's okay," Vlad spoke coolly, her hateful attitude not ruffling him.

"There's something I haven't told you," I spoke softly, my hands resting protectively on my stomach. It was far from protruding but I knew she was there. "We're…"

"I'm too late," stated Dr. Reynolds firmly. "That's it! I'm calling the police!"

"No," I pleaded, my heart racing. "Listen to me. It's not that. I swear it's not that!"

"Then what is it," the doctor asked. She aimed her question more at Vlad.

"That's what I'm here to determine. If he has fallen into Stockholm syndrome, then I will leave. I only want what's best for Daniel," Vlad replied, his voice still soft.

"Oh, you are playing this up. You want him in Stockholm syndrome. Without it, you lose!"

"I'm not in this Syndrome! What I feel for him is real! I feel," I declared. It was hard to admit but inside, I knew what I was in love with. I may be falling in love with the man but I was madly in love with the feeling.

"What are you talking about," Dr. Reynolds asked.

"I've mentioned it before," I said, sighing. "I don't feel things the way normal people do. Neither one of us do. But together, we can experience what others experience."

"Oh, my God," Dr. Reynolds declared, her eyes wide. "This is another method of the syndrome. It's not him that you're devoted to; it's the possibility of being normal again."

"No," I denied. "Couldn't it be that I'm just in love with him?"

"Not with the history you two share," Dr. Reynolds accused, glaring at Vlad. "You know this is wrong!"

"I can't help who I love," said Vlad, his voice soft. "I never planned on this, either. When I first raped him, I had planned to force him to join me. Now, I belong to him more than he to me."

"You just couldn't get him to surrender to your will so you came up with another plan of action," she accused of him.

"I swear to you I mean him no harm," Vlad continued to speak softly. "If it would be what's best for him, I'd leave. I can't explain what is happening, but I love him." He took my hand in his and squeezed it tightly. I couldn't help the small smile that graced my lips.

"That's it," Dr. Reynolds declared, turning.

"Wait," I cried. I let go of Vlad's hand so I could stop her. "Please. Please," I said again, slowing my words so I could try to reach deep inside her. "I can't explain it either but he's a completely different man. There's a part of me that wonders what the hell I'm doing but more of me loves him. We're going to have a baby for crying out loud! I can't allow you to rip our family apart!"

"And I can't allow you to be forced into this," Dr. Reynolds cried, looking into my eyes. "This pregnancy is making things worse. The child is making you devoted to Vlad while the possibility of being normal is doing the same thing! You're not choosing for yourself!"

"I am," I said. "I choose Vlad and if you can't honor my decision, I guess I'll have to make you forget about me."

"What," she asked, her eyes shaking from the confusion.

"No, Daniel," Vlad said, his voice slightly scolding.

I turned to him in surprise, "You're against this!"

"I can't expect them to understand, Daniel. If I want their trust, I must earn it," Vlad said slowly. I remember this side of him—from my dreams that is. The first pathetic dream I had of Vlad. When he confessed to my family who had raped me and who had stolen my heart. That's why he confessed to Mom and Dad. He believes he has to make it up to me.

"Listen to me," I said, taking his hands in mine. "What you did was wrong, that's true, but there's nothing you can do about that now. The only thing you can do is make the future better. The best way to do that is to move past this guilt. You are your biggest critic. You have to learn to forgive yourself."

"There's nothing he can do to erase what he's done to you," Dr. Reynolds declared. "Do you know what you done to this child?"

"I've forgiven him," I snapped, turning to her but keeping my hands in Vlad's. "The only other person who needs to forgive him is Vlad himself!" If Vlad won't help me erase her memory then I will do it myself.

_Just give her some time_, a strange voice said in my head. I inwardly chuckled happily. _Can you hear my voice yet?_

Not yet, I said, excitedly. But it's clearly not mine!

_Congratulations_, Vlad replied, happiness in the strangers voice._ But you still can't erase her memory._

I won't allow her to try to tear us apart, I declared. She almost has everything she needs to be successful.

_She won't tear us apart if we're meant to be. Heaven and Earth can't destroy a relationship that can stand the test of others._

"Okay," I sighed. "But I'm warning you," I turned in Dr. Reynolds's direction, "I won't allow you to destroy our family. You're not the only one who can do amazing things."

"I wish you'd let me get you help," Dr. Reynolds sighed as well. "But I'd rather tolerate your life choice and be there for you than oppose it and have you alienated from me."

"Maybe you'll learn to be more supportive than tolerating," I smiled hopeful at her. The smile wasn't as friendly as I have been with her in the past. I hope that someday, that smile may return.

O_O

I walked into the quack's office to find her sitting at her desk. The session room and her office were a shared space and it worked considering that she didn't have many patients. Actually, I believe I am her only patient. In my opinion, she doesn't have any patients but I know that technically, I am her patient. It's just that I'm not happy about it.

"Hello, Danny," she greeted me, stating my name firmly. I know why she done that. I hadn't told her my name.

"How did you figure my name out," I asked, coming to sit down on the bed. I didn't lie down but I did make myself comfortable.

"I do have friends in this building," she retorted. "Oh. Who might you be," she asked Vlad.

"Vlad Masters," Vlad greeted her.

"No last names," I shot out.

"Oh, be quiet, Daniel. I'm pleased to meet you," he paused as he waited for her introduction.

"Doctor Richardson," she filled him in. "Elaine Richardson."

"It's a pleasure," Vlad replied. "I was hoping you would allow me to sit in on your session today."

"Are you Danny's father," Dr. Richardson asked him.

"No," Vlad replied. "I'm the reason they want him to see you. I raped Daniel for the past two and a half months and now we're involved."

I covered my face with my hand, hearing her voice catch in her throat. Why must he keep bringing this up? "Danny was raped… by you?"

"Yes," Vlad replied. "I guess he hasn't told you anything."

"Nothing," she replied, her voice more guarded now that she knew the story behind our relationship.

"Maybe I can help fill in the first few pages," he asked.

"Speaking of pages, Danny. Have you started your therapy book?"

"I wrote something down," I commented. I pulled the book from the satchel on my side.

"Something is good," she replied, taking the book. I closed the flap to my now-empty satchel. I wouldn't keep anything in this thing but clinic-related objects. The reason it's completely empty is Vlad stopped to purchase it for me and gave it to me today.

"I'm only doing this to satisfy Dr. Reynolds," I replied with a grimace. If she knew anything, I wanted her to know I done this in protest.

O_O

That was the last thing I said for the rest of the session. Vlad wasn't silent on the other hand, giving her the complete back story. He told her how we met and our relationships through our near four month time span of knowing each other. When I refused to speak, she practically analyzed Vlad. Vlad wasn't too open, insisting on keeping the session focused on me but she did get him to reveal his original game plan. I was surprised to learn all the thought he put into raping me. It wasn't an impulse at all.

After we departed the clinic, I headed back to Amity Park while Vlad went home. I was ten minutes late for patrol and that made me apprehensive. I've tried to be more on time as of late because of the war going off between the C-crew and us. Sam and Tucker had the pistols but they were still reluctant to use it for self-defense. Even though both of them came close to losing their battles, they still insist they can handle the C-crew.

I made it to the Nasty Burger to find Sam and Tucker waiting for me. It was five minutes to six and if I wasn't here at this precise moment, Sam and Tucker would start to worry. I was always ready to leave by six because that's when patrol technically started.

"Hey, guys," I greeted, coming to rest beside our booth.

"Hey," Sam said, her eyes searching mine. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah," I said, a bit winded. It was a long flight from the clinic to the Nasty Burger and the ghost I had to fight to go fight ghosts didn't help. "I ran into a teaser on the way here."

"Oh," Sam said. It wasn't anything unusual. As Tucker said, _Why do we even bother having a stop and start time? All day every day is patrol!_

I didn't tell them but the reason was so that they won't be bombarded like I am. I have guarded against the portal and now the only threat that stands is Vlad. As much as I don't want to admit it, I know he's the reason they become half ghost. I don't have a clue as to how but I know it has something to do with him.

"Are you wanting anything to eat," Tucker asked me.

"No," I replied. I ate apples at the house earlier and the smell is currently killing me. "The screaming is about to begin," I listed the last reason—the main reason. Ghost hunting is one of the most important things in my life right now. Family is above all else but then it is ghost hunting. The most important thing to me, though, is my daughter. Nothing else matters.

"Well," Sam said, standing up. "Let's go!"

"Agreed," I replied. Tucker followed suit as Sam slid out of the booth. "But first," I insisted.

Sam groaned as she slid the pistol just in seeing range. Tucker also done the same thing, pulling it slightly out of one of his many pockets. The pistols weren't removed enough to be seen by anything but a ghost… or a half ghost. "Satisfied," she asked.

"Very," I replied as I watched them tuck them away. I knew they weren't prepared to use them but that would change. I have plans Saturday after the CAT test. Our test is at one and I have scheduled the shooting range at Richview at four. That gives us plenty of time to finish the test and get back to town for patrol.

The ghost attacks had managed to lower down some at around eight-forty so we decided to go back to the Nasty Burger. Tucker ordered a hot chocolate while Sam ordered a French vanilla mocha with silk milk because of her allergy to chocolate. I decided to skip the heated beverages and ordered one of my specialty milk shakes. By specialty, I mean add whatever they can think of. The younger employees have made it a game amongst themselves: who can create the most repulsive shake. It used to be who could make the shake I couldn't stomach but when I actually drank a blended up wash cloth (unbeknownst to me), they changed the goal of the game.

As we sat down with my new creation, I put my lips to the straw. My nostrils cried out in distaste as it took in the repulsive odor. Oh no.

_Do not drink that_, the strange female voice cried. I knew who it was.

Oh, come on! I always drink these shakes!

_Not no more. I'm fully developed now and I will not take any more of those hideous creations!_

You are not fully developed, I shot back at her.

_Close enough. Now, disregard it!_

Young lady, I will drink this shake and there is nothing you can do about it, I scolded. Great. I'm just four months pregnant and I'm already scolding my daughter!

_When you throw it up you will know differently_, she retorted. Well, she has my attitude.

I sucked on the straw, trying to remain control over my own body but my daughter showed me who was really in charge. The nausea was immediately overwhelming and I quickly lost the battle with the motion. I managed to lay the shake on the table by taking deep breaths but that was the extent of the action. The moments after led me quickly to the bathroom stall. I could hear the gasps and the cries of the surprised employees. Just great.

"Danny," Sam and Tucker's voices came from outside the stall.

"Hey," a male's voice cried out in surprise and anger.

"Oh put a cap on it," Sam barked.

"Get out of here," Tucker ordered. I could hear the boy's startled gasp as Tucker probably threw him out.

"I'm okay," I whispered gently. Are you going to make me throw up anymore, I asked my child.

_Not unless you drink anymore of that shake. Throw it away and we'll get along great!_

I'm going to throw it away, I replied. I flushed the commode and stepped out of the stall. "Sam, you shouldn't be in here," I said, walking to the sink.

"I'll be anywhere you need me to be," Sam said, her voice stern. Finally, her demeanor changed. "Are you sure you're okay?"

"I'm fine," I stated, washing my mouth out. "I guess I finally found one I couldn't handle," I chuckled.

"I guess," Tucker said, his face displaying worry and disbelief.

"I'm fine," I replied. I wiped my face off with the paper towel and we exited the men's room. Sam truly is a jet-setter. Going places where wo-man hasn't gone before. I chuckled inwardly.

O_O

After I dropped Sam and Tucker off, I started home. It was nice. The ghosts had practically vanished. I guess they've allowed the time after the King to show them they don't need to come to Earth every day. I was almost home when I collapsed to my knees, my hands wrapping protectively around my waist.

_Mommy_, Lilly cried out, pain evident in her voice. I noted she called me Mommy but that was it. I forced the rings around my waist, hoping to absorb all the Ectoranium in me and not allow it to penetrate her. With me as a human, the lethal element attacked only her. It wasn't me that was in pain… it was my daughter.

"Come out and fight me, you coward," I shouted, feeling the pain in my stomach vanish as it replenished in every cell of my ghostly body. Lilly wasn't in pain anymore. I could feel that much.

"I thought the rumors must surely be a mistake," his voice replied. "But yet, here you are."

"What about it," I said, forcing myself to my feet. Damn it all if he wouldn't return now of all times!

"Well, I wanted there to be no competition. With you still existing in this realm, I am still at risk for not being the only indestructible force around," he replied, his voice calm. "Then there's the most recent development. You are much more valuable to me defeated now than you were before. I will ensure the job is complete this time."

"What's more valuable about me now than from last month," I asked, confused.

"You're the king now," he replied, his voice going low. "With your defeat comes my coronation. You see, I wouldn't be reluctant like you are. When I defeat you, I will immediately seize control of the throne."

"I'm not the king," I denied. I tried to block that development. I still haven't processed it.

"Not for long," he replied, his voice once again dropping. I identified his location as his hands became two stakes. They were shorter this time so he would be closer to his opponent. He'd have a less chance for mistakes.

He charged at me and I brought up a shield made from ectoplasm. It wasn't my kind of shield, it was a shield from history. Before he had a chance to hit it, I called out the magic words: "Go Ghost Stinger!" I learned this in my exploration since the battle with the bored teenagers. I still didn't know half the stuff I should know with the power but I have learned I can use my own ecto-energy as a source of power.

The shield withstood the attack from the Ectoranium but it did take some damage. It was easily repairable by filling in the slash Invincible's stake made. I used the shield to guard myself while I shot some blasts at him. Invincible was surprised at my growth since the last time I saw him.

"How is this possible," he roared as I blasted him into the air. He floated above me, his glow a full blast inferno from his rage. "It's only been two months since we last faced off! You couldn't have possibly improved this much!"

"You didn't think those other ghosts thought that about me and I'd be that easy, did you," I smirked. "I didn't have a reason to fight. Now I do!"

"And what reason is that," Invincible asked.

"My very existence couldn't be enough," I asked, trying to divert his thought-train. I couldn't admit to him I was pregnant. Even though that was the real reason I was fighting harder this time.

"And it wasn't last time," Invincible poked a hole in my cover up. "I don't think so!"

"I wasn't prepared last time," I retorted. "I had no idea you'd be that good."

"I'm still that good," Invincible bought my bait. I had him focused on himself and not me. "I will destroy you and I will assume the throne!"

"Over my dead body," I replied, rocketing towards him. I didn't want to destroy him so my only chance was for him to leave of his own free will or make him believe I was dead. The last one wasn't really an option. It was too dangerous for the baby.

"My thoughts exactly," Invincible returned, bringing his stakes to the front again. Invincible struck my shield, gorging a long gash down the front. I filled in the scratch, throwing the shield towards him. The shield began to smoke, his entire body acting as Ectoranium. That's why it hurt when I tried to hit him last time we met!

I pulled the shield back, repairing the damage touching his skin done to the device. I formed more ectoplasm in my hand, imagining a sword. "Go Ghost Stinger," I called again, turning the sword into something that could withstand the Ectoranium, if only just barely.

"So that's how you want to play," Invincible chuckled. "Ectoranium verses pure raw ghost energy. Fair enough."

Note to self, remember what he called my ghost stinger. Pure raw ghost energy. Interesting. I threw up my sword, blocking his newly minted one. Sparks spewed in all directions from the contact. I hissed from the green sparks while Invincible hissed from my white ones. I shielded myself from his stake as I brought the sword down to meet his. It was a fight to the death.

O_O

It was well after ten-thirty by the time Invincible retreated his weapons and summoned his hands again. "Fine, Phantom," he spoke. "Obviously, we're too evenly matched. I shall return, though. Do not believe I have surrendered."

"A ghost such as yourself," I retorted. "I know better. I shall see you in battle again."

"You shall," he called, flying into the air. I ceased my ghost stinger, my ectoplasm vanishing once the ghost stinger dissipated. I flew home, transforming before I walked in my door.

"Danny," my mom cried, worried. "Where have you been?"

"I ran into some trouble on the way home. Don't worry, I'm fine," I replied. I ran up the stairs, not bothering to explain further. Honestly, I shouldn't have explained that much. I picked up the phone and hurriedly dialed Sam's number.

"Danny," Sam called, worried sick.

"I'm sorry," I replied. "I figured out why all the other ghosts disappeared."

"Why," she asked, her voice displaying her fear.

"There was a bigger bad in the area," I said, leaving it at that. "Goodnight." I hung up, dialing Tucker's number. The scene played very close to the previous phone call. After I hung up, I took a shower and dressed for bed. Once I was in my pajamas, I transformed into my ghost form and went out for the late shift. As expected, with Invincible gone, the ghosts resumed their normal activity.

**AN: I will post the chapter companions for New Beginnings beginning on Chapter Four. I will post one through three (hopefully) on Thursday. As stated in the AN at the beginning, my internet has been out since Saturday night. If my internet remains unobstructed, then I will continue the updating schedule I followed on Bitter UNIONS and I will update my profile page and the forum every third chapter. Thank you.**

**Drop me a line and let me know how you liked it (especially the twist). For those who thought it but were thrown off by my companions, he he, well, I couldn't give away the plot of the second installment. It was nothing personal. I look forward to hearing from you!**

**Team04Phantom**


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer: I do not own Danny Phantom, the Ultimate Enemy or the Fright Before Christmas.**

**Warning: This story contains reference to rape, sexual content, male sex and pedophilia. If any of this disturbs you, please do not read.**

**Chapter Three: The Face of Evil**

We were in an assembly exclusively for ninth graders. It was towards the end of the school day this Thursday so afterwards dismissal would follow. At first, I wasn't interested but as Mr. Lancer started talking about how important the CAT test was for our future, I became interested. I was starting a family early. Most young parents have trouble with their plans for the future and let's not forget about my obligations to my town. It's not like I can afford a lot of time for higher education with the ghosts not giving me a lousy day for high school. I hope the future will be better but the odds are stacked against me.

"Your futures are not carved in stone," Mr. Lancer said, holding up a pencil, "but it may be carved with a number two pencil."

I'll admit it was a stupid analogy but Sam and Tucker should be listening to this too. "Oh, please," they chorused.

"Be quiet," I instructed. "This is important!" I left my urgency for them to listen to this in the silence.

"As most of you have probably forgotten, this Saturday will be the Career Aptitude Test," Mr. Lancer continued. Already? You have been talking about this for the past fifteen minutes, "So study hard," Mr. Lancer instructed. "It's your future—do you want fries with it?"

As a matter of fact, I do not. I want to pass this thing. I want to do good on it like Jazz did. If she could pass this thing I know I can. She wasn't the only one who got Mom and Dad's genes.

"Danny," Sam said, waving her hand in front of my face. I guess I zoned out. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine," I sighed. "I just want to do a good job on this. Who knows what the future has in store for us? We should at least try to do our best while we still have some control."

"Please," Tucker brushed off. "We do great things every day! What could they teach us about life from a book that we haven't already learned in the field?"

"It's not what they can teach us," I spoke softly. "It's how much we're willing to learn." I stood up, walking out of the auditorium. It was bright and sunny out today, the weather much warmer compared to the last few months. It has been brutal.

O_O

After I dropped Sam and Tucker off at their houses, I was trying to study for the test. I finished my homework in detention so I had plenty of time for the CAT test. I decided to avoid my bedroom because I tended to get distracted there. I was about to mark a bubble on the test when Jazz started making noises. She was trying to hint to me I had the wrong answer but every answer was wrong. What, it's a trick question?

"Okay," I barked, dropping the pencil to the table. "I get it! Your smart and I'm not and I'll never get as high a grade as you!"

"Danny," Jazz sighed, "I just want you to succeed." Then leave me alone! "If there's three things I've learned in life, it's study hard,"

"Do your best," we replied together as I caught on.

But what's the third thing: "Duck," Jazz cried.

Duck, why… smack! "Ow," I cried, rubbing my head. On the floor sat my attacker. "A boomerang," I questioned. I picked it up and threw it in the opposite direction, wanting it as far away from me as possible.

"We call it the boooo-merang," Dad replied, adding way too many o's.

"It seeks out a ghost's unique ecto-signature," Mom replied. Ut oh. I turned in the direction I threw it but I didn't see it. Smack!

"Ow," I cried again, rubbing my head.

"But why it's targeting Danny I don't have a clue," Mom replied, picking the device up. "The ecto-poisoning shouldn't attract it?"

"What's that, Dan," Dad asked, looking over my shoulder. "That stupid CAT test! I failed that and I didn't turn into a cat." I smiled up at Dad as Jazz looked at him funny. I knew what he was saying. Grandma Miranda died the same year he took this test and he turned in his paper without his name on it, at least according to Mom. Dad reveals very little about his past prior to college. Dad was trying to remove the pressure.

A ghost sense ripped out of my mouth as Jazz sneezed. I looked around the room wildly but I knew I had to get Jazz out of here. Mom and Dad had already left so I tried to come up with a plausible excuse to make Jazz follow. All I came up with was crazy brother. "Get out of my room," I stated. I hoped she'd get the hint.

"But we're in the kitchen," Jazz said, confused. Suddenly her eyes widened and I knew the ghost was directly behind me. "But if that's your attitude, then I don't want to be anywhere near you!" Smooth! As soon as she had her back to me (I had to keep up appearances), I transformed. Jazz wasn't even out of the kitchen yet.

I turned in the direction I could sense the ghost but the ghost I saw I didn't recognize. That wasn't what startled me. I see ghosts I don't know all the time. There are trillions of ghosts. Count how many people have lived and then add how many organisms have existed and you have how many ghosts exist. No, the strange thing about this ghost was she looked familiar but not at the same time. It was like she was a mixture of two very familiar ghosts.

"Who are you supposed to be," I asked after gasping at the merger of Box Ghost and Lunch Lady. Oh, Goodness, what a horrendous sight that was!

"I am Box Lunch," she cried out. She wasn't very old. Even her name was a combination of the two common-day ghosts. "The daughter of the Box Ghost and the Lunch Lady!"

I think I'm going to hurl. "Uh," I paused, "Ew!"

"Face my vengeance," she cried, just like her parents. Ew. "Would you like a side salad?" Yep, just like her parents. Oh, this is so wrong!

O_O

It made perfect sense to me but apparently not to Sam and Tucker. After I fought Box Lunch, I discovered the test answers on my back. Why couldn't they understand that this was a gift? Everything happens for a reason and I just happened to fall through the very test answers I needed to succeed. I have been so busy in the time since I discovered about the test. Sure, I could have been studying after the King but that was my mistake. I can't change the past so I must embrace it. This was fate's gift for saving everyone. It had to be.

But Sam and Tucker didn't understand and they wanted me to return the answers. They had been pestering me the entire half-day of school (those are always pointless anyway). I couldn't return the answers. Not yet, anyway. I would study the answers tonight and turn the test in tomorrow. Mr. Lancer would never know I opened the packet because I would phase them out of the envelope. It was perfect—or it was before my ghost sense went off again. Can't fate give me an hour to study his gift?

The ghost that filled my vision was mindboggling. These two I have seen recently. I see them every day and they weren't conjoined. "Who are you supposed to be," I asked again. I asked Box Lunch that very same question yesterday.

"I am SkulTech 9.9," he replied, Skulker's voice coming out. "The Ghost Zone's greatest hunter," he continued, "operated by the greatest technological mind!"

"Skulker and Technus together," I stated in horror.

"Is that an ew or a yikes," Tucker asked, confusion in his voice.

"Definitely a yikes," I replied. This was bad. These two are the top ghosts of the Ghost Zone. There may be ghosts that are more powerful and there may be more deadly ghosts but never will there be ghosts that are more resourceful. That's what makes them so dangerous. I picked Sam and Tucker up, dumping them in the closet. I had to make sure they were safe.

Things were happening so fast. Claws retracted and they worked so well together. It was scary to think Skulker and Technus, enemies to the core, could get along. They should be fighting or at least not be so well-tuned due to their newly forged alliance but here they were, acting as if they have worked together for years.

The jingle that I love and has Team Phantom looking up whenever we hear it sounded. "What," Skulker thundered. "I thought you fixed that?" Technus on the other hand was offensive, "I did! We must have synched up with someone else's PDA!" Technus had to finish his statement in panic as he rocketed out of my room. Luckily, one of them turned intangible because they didn't bust out of my room. This is getting weirder and weirder. They haven't faced us as a team yet. How would they know they have created an override? Tucker can always control Skulker!

"I can still hack into his system," Tucker replied, holding up his PDA. "I don't know if that's exciting or depressing." Sam had red and puffy eyes from having nothing to do but worry. I couldn't focus on that. I had to get to the bottom of this.

"Come on, guys," I declared, turning intangible. "Follow me!"

"We'll walk," Tucker remarked sarcastic as I flew out of my bedroom. That's exactly what I wanted you to do. Help me out if I get in over my head. This way, Sam will have something to do while I fight them.

O_O

I'm beginning to believe running to the future was a bad idea. After I fought SkulTech 9.9, we landed in this strange area of what I presumed was the Ghost Zone. A crazy time-ghost had tried to kill us and I fled to the future with Sam and Tucker. However, what awaited us there was worse than the last three ghosts combined: me. An evil me.

Sam and Tucker escaped to the past but they're not safe. He put Sam and Tucker in his sights, his thoughts ugly and destructive. I tried to protect them but he was just too much for me. Sam and Tucker reacted appropriately, though, removing those medallions. However, after they left, my future-self captured me and followed them to the past. With him disguised as me, they're in more danger than they have ever been in! "I have to get out of this," I stated, struggling against the bonds holding me captive. I have to get back to the present. But how do I defeat my future self? If it could be done, I would have done it here!

"Well, well, well," a booming voice broadcast from behind me. I struggled to spin around but the weightlessness of the Ghost Zone made it nearly impossible. "All this time we've been planning on how to take the fight to you and here you are, wrapped up like a present."

It sounds different but it is also unmistakable. "Box Ghost?"

"Beware," he replied, his voice absolutely terrifying. He raised his hand to me and blasted me. Nice to know he'll come into his ecto-energy in the next ten years.

I smacked into another form. Now that I was ghost, I could hit objects from this world. However, it wasn't an object. "Ember," I declared, surprised. She had altered her appearance dramatically. "You look…"

"Like I went to seed when you destroyed my vocal cords by crushing them with your intangible act," Ember rasped. I was horrified. I couldn't speak. She blasted me as well and I landed at someone's feet. Looking up, I saw Johnny 13 but he was in a wheelchair.

"Johnny 13," I cried. I'm starting to get the picture. "Look, whatever I done to you, I swear…"

"Been waiting a long time for this, punk," he seethed, the blanket over his knees turning into his shadow.

"What? No, wait! Wait," I cried. I couldn't fight back. I was wrapped too tightly in this stupid binding. I was at their mercy and they weren't showing any.

Round and round I went, being blasted or hit by something or another. I was growing weary and so was Lilly, her sensitive development at risk from all the attacks. "Get away," I said weakly. My family was at risk from dying in the past, my baby and I were at risk from dying here, and he was on the verge of winning. "Get away," I declared stronger. That's it!

"Get away," I screamed but energy filled my senses. I didn't know what was happening but I had a pretty good idea. I saw him displaying this power on the monitors and against Sam and Tucker when they escaped. The ghostly wail. I kept it up until all my energy drained from my body. I felt the rings form around my waist but my jumpsuit remained. "My voice is changing," I said, breathless. I recoginized I even had the echo of a ghost. This is weird. "Great. It's not like my stupid future hasn't been smacking me in the face enough." Smack! Damn it all. "What's this," I winced, picking up the stupid boomerang. "A note?"

I opened the paper and glanced at it. "Wisconsin? Plasmius? Of course!" I hope Jazz knows that she can't escape this now. She's already willing to reveal it.

O_O

"Well, that's Vlad for ya," I stated in shock. A giant football floated in front of his portal. I knew Vlad's signature from my time so I assumed that if I could sense it here, I could find him. It was slightly different but I chalked it up to age. I took a breath, chuckling softly, "Subtle as a flying mallet." Now that I was here, I prepared myself to face the father of my daughter's future self. Maybe I can get some answers. I moved the football and passed through his portal.

"Come to kick a defenseless, old man while he's down," a ragged voice asked me as soon as I landed on the floor. The place was a mess.

"Defenseless? Old? What are you talking about," I asked as I passed into his control room. This was not his home in Elemerton or in Colorado. This was the Island. Why it looked like this, though, I haven't a clue. Vlad spun his chair around to look at me and I was taken aback. His hair and facial hair was overgrown and his clothing was in shatters. "Man, what happened to you?"

"I could ask you the very same question, my boy. Or should I say what hasn't happened to you," he replied. I wanted to know what happened but I didn't know how to ask. "They went quickly, you know. They felt no pain. The same could not be said of you, Daniel. All you wanted was for the hurt to go away but you begged me not to take your feelings."

So I knew about what would happen after the accident. So why did I go through with it? "So I honored your wishes but I promised you I wouldn't take your ability to feel. I couldn't understand your attachment to the human emotions. I believed since we couldn't feel the pain and the senses, we shouldn't feel the emotions. I had no idea of the hell that procedure would bring."

He lied to me? Why would he lie to me? I looked into his mind and it was vastly different from the mind of my lover in the present. It was simple. Like a normal persons. I saw the scene playing in his head as he relieved it.

"When I reached in you to remove your emotions, I accidently removed Phantom. He was hurting, Daniel. You were taking it on both sides. That's why you begged Alice Foley to send you to me. You couldn't take the pressures the town had put on both of your forms: Fenton for living and Phantom for failing."

"Did they find out," I asked, trying to keep up with his thoughts. They were so erratic.

"No," he replied softly. "But they were relentless on you. You were hurting enough as you struggled with your own guilt. Living with the woman who lost her only son caused you to feel worse. As you struggled with the turmoil, you split. Phantom was angry and alone while Fenton was hurting and alone. Sadly, with Phantom independent from you, that freed him up to separate my ghost form."

His thoughts were suddenly crystal clear. I could see me under the effects of the anesthesia while Phantom floated above Vlad's crumpled up form. Phantom grinned wildly at Vlad as he slipped on the clawed gloves. They weren't the Ghost Goblets but they were based off them. Phantom ripped the two Vlad's apart, leaping into the ghost form. He couldn't survive separated and I didn't want him. What else could he do?

I was watching the scene now instead of listening to Vlad tell me about it. His memories were clear as day when it came to this moment of his life. As the two ghosts merged overhead, Vlad looked to my human form. He tried to remove all the tubes but he was running out of time. He got me to wake up but he couldn't get the effects out of my system. I was a full human. It would take me hours to be free of its effects. The screaming died in the background and Vlad knew he had two choices: he could try to get me to safety or he could run.

The screen went black as Vlad shut down. I focused on him again, seeing his shaking form. He was crying as he struggled with his decision. "What happened to my human form," I asked even though I knew. I didn't even need to guess.

"Some things, my boy, are best left unsaid," he replied, his voice weak as he struggled to control himself. He walked over to a counter and picked up a photo. I knew that photo. Dad had been placed in his rightful spot. "If any good has come of this, it's that ten years without ghost powers has made me realize what a fool I'd been."

"Do you still have those ghost gauntlets," I asked, calling them the closest thing as to what I could identify them.

He looked up at me, confusion written on his face. "Yeah, why?"

"He merged a medallion in my chest," I replied, my voice soft.

"Who did? Dan," Vlad asked me.

I forced a lump down my throat. He goes by another name. Does that mean that name is the name of evil? "My future self," I replied, hoping it wasn't who he was talking about.

"Why would Dan do that," Vlad asked me. I closed my eyes, taking in that info.

"It's a time medallion," I answered. "Whoever wears it can remain in a different time."

"Are you saying you have a time medallion lodged within you, keeping you rooted in this time period," Vlad asked for clarification. Just like him. He still says everything in big words.

"Yes," I replied, placing my hands to my chest. "And I can't reach it. But if those things," I motioned towards the gloves he had retrieved, "can reach inside me and rip out my humanity—which sounds totally gross—then they should be able to reach the medallion and send me back to my time!"

"Or I could just kill you and stop this timeline from ever happening," Vlad replied, an evil glint in his eyes. Ah, I've been wondering where you were. "Bet you didn't count on that?" You don't give me enough credit. I'm learning from your past self. Of course, I expected you to betray me, especially a Vlad who has been betrayed by my future self. I didn't just survive the incident in the Ghost Zone and fall for that again. Vlad reared his hand back. Here goes nothing!

I formed some harmless ectoplasm in the balls of my hands and waited for the perfect moment. As he struck out in my direction, I rocketed the blast between his legs, hitting him square on. The immediate pain caused him to miss, swiping the medallion right out. It still hurt like hell but I believe Vlad screamed the loudest… or at least the one in the most pain.

I looked around and I was on the island still but it looked more natural. I had to be in the present. I looked behind me and saw the portal. It's my only chance. I looked at my clock as I passed through the portal. It's ten til five. The test is over.

O_O

I retrieved some tools to help me fight him and fought down the bile. This was the biggest fight of my life but it also had the highest stakes. I couldn't let them down. My family's lives depended on it… oh, and Mr. Lancer. The accident happens at the Nasty Burger. There's a good chance that's where everyone is.

The closer I got to the Nasty Burger, the stronger his signature became. There was no doubt in my mind that the signature I felt was his. No one, not even the King of All Ghosts, could have that kind of signature.

I set my sights on him from above and dived at him. "Hey, are you ready for a blast from your past," I asked him as I rammed into him. I have to find my family.

_Why didn't I see it before_, I heard a female voice, a stranger in my head, say. I looked in the direction I sensed a group of signatures and I saw my family and Mr. Lancer. Sam and Tucker were terrified and with good reason. There's no guarantee that I can beat him but I won't give up until I'm dead.

"I won't turn into that, I promise," I swore to Sam and Tucker. Inside all of their minds, I was hearing the comparisons. He told them. I allowed my gaze to reach everyone, including them all. Finally, my eyes fell on Mr. Lancer. "I guess this explains my periodic absences," I tried to make light of the situation. I had to wait for Dan to come back. If I removed them, he'd only strap them back up or try to kill them earlier. They weren't safe but this was the safest place for them.

I felt something wrap around my waist and I looked down in surprise. Suddenly, he whipped me back, tying me up in the binding material again. I didn't sense him come back! I had to focus on the fight, though. "What are you going to do, waste me? Then what happens to you?"

"You don't get it, do you," Dan asked, his face inches from mine. Being so close, I could finally see the blue tint to his skin. He looked practically normal from even a short distance. Now, he resembled Vlad's oxygen deprived form. "I'm still here. You still turn into me!"

Dan threw me to the ground, even admitting he wasn't trying to kill me. He knew as well as I did that I would destroy myself and I'm not making a pun. If my family dies, I die. It's that simple. I retrieved the Specter Deflector from my pack and ambushed him, attaching it to him.

"If you remembered more about your family, then you'd remember the Specter Deflector," I declared as he howled in pain. I brought my fists up, revealing the real Ghost Gauntlets. They were what protected me from the Specter Deflector. "Or the Ghost Gauntlets," I cried, hitting him a few times. I just needed to weaken him. Once he was in the thermos, he could be as powerful as he wanted but he wasn't going anywhere.

He fell into a tanker full of cooking oil, his hot head exploding its contents. I stared in shock at the blast, thinking it must be over. How could he escape that? I didn't have time to worry about statistics though. I had to rescue my family. This fight has lasted too long anyhow.

_Danny_, I heard a strange female's voice. I spun around, partly in free will and partly in being spun around forcefully. I didn't have time to power up a blast. Dan stood behind me, the Specter Belt dropping from his outstretched hand. Crap! _Baby, be careful!_

It's Mom. She accepts me? That can't be right. It's Jazz. That's it.

"What makes you think you can beat me," Dan asked me, snapping me back to the fight.

I glanced at my family. That's what. "I promised my family," I declared, staring him in his crimson eyes. If he remembers anything about our old life then he knows there's nothing I won't do to keep a promise.

Dan chortled. "You are such a child," he declared. "You promised," he mocked.

He has no idea this is coming! "Yes," I declared, taking a deep breath. Think of your family. That's what triggered it before. "I promised," I screamed, accessing that ghostly wail. I laid it into him, keeping it at full strength. It weakened me but I had more strength in me left. If I could gather one more breath… it'd be over. We could put this whole thing behind us.

"That power," Dan cried in alarm, "I don't get that power for another ten years!"

"I guess time's changing," I declared, gathering another breath. He stared at me in realization but there was nothing he could do. He had already made the crucial mistake that cost him his future.

The wail knocked him into a building, the structure crumbling around him. He exploded from the rubble but I had him beat. I was exhausted but I had enough to capture him. All I needed to do was make sure he was sealed up tight in the thermos. "That's it, isn't it," he mocked me.

"Times up," I retorted, summing the thermos.

"Too weak to escape but you're too weak to save them," Dan said weakly, his words too jumbled to make the complete sentence he had hoped. I sucked him into the thermos, feeling quite content. I beat my future self, a twenty-two. In the background, I heard hissing.

"Oh, no," I said, turning around. I thought I still had time! I started running for the vat where my family was. I tried triggering the rings but they fizzled. "I can't go ghost," I cried, realization dawning on me. "No!" I was too weak to even run at the full speed of a human. I tumbled to the ground but before I could get back up again, I was soaring in the opposite direction, a loud bang in my ears. They're gone!

Suddenly, it was deafening quiet and I still hadn't hit the ground. I used my power of flight to stabilize myself. Stupid, why didn't you fly to save them? Now they're gone! I looked around the area and surprisingly Clockwork floated there. "Clockwork? I don't understand," I asked. I didn't want to put up with his bosses. They could kill me for all I cared. I was already dead.

Clockwork pointed in the direction of the vat and I reluctantly looked in that direction. My family floated harmlessly above the explosion. "You saved them," I asked in confusion. "But why?" Wasn't he the bad guy before?

"The Observants see time like a parade," he finally spoke, "passing by in sequence. I watch the parade from above, viewing all the twists and turns the route might or might not take."

Oh, my God. "You knew all this was going to happen. All of it! Even this part!"

"And here you are, a fourteen year old child risking everything for those he loves," he spoke calmly. We suddenly appeared in a frozen moment of the past, students packed in the classroom. I looked at the clock and it read three o'clock. We've gone back two hours. "Everything is as it should be. You've given everyone else in your life a second chance. Why not you?" He handed me the envelope that possessed the answers. He smacked his time staff, "Time in."

The medallion around my neck vanished along with Clockwork. I looked around the room as everyone came to life. Sam and Tucker were safe, doing their tests. They looked up at me, seeing me holding the test answers out in the open. They smiled, knowing what I was about to do. I started walking towards Mr. Lancer's desk.

"Is there a problem, Mr. Fenton," Mr. Lancer retorted, his voice disappointed.

"Actually, Mr. Lancer, there is," I replied. I placed the envelop on his desk, pushing it towards him. "I, uh, found this the other day. Outside the Nasty Burger."

"The seal is broken," Mr. Lancer observed. I hadn't noticed but I'll deal with my consequences. I can't exactly say my evil alternate future-self opened it. Besides, it wasn't my evil alternate future-self who stole the answers to begin with. This is all my fault.

"I couldn't help but look at the answers," I sighed. "But I'm not a cheater and I never will be!"

"You can prove that when you take the make-up test," Mr. Lancer smiled at me. "You'll have plenty of time to study in detention."

"Really," I stated, excited.

"But for now," Mr. Lancer continued. His thumb pointed to the door and I noticed Jazz peering inside. Ah, yes. I almost forgot. I nodded, leaving the room with one last glance at Sam and Tucker. At least they were okay. It hurt less to walk now. I guess I'm healed.

O_O

I was sitting on the steps when Jazz took a seat beside of me. She put her hand on mine as I reclined back, waiting for Sam and Tucker to finish. I was also waiting for her to come back around. "I'm really proud of you for not cheating," Jazz replied, that pride appearing in her voice.

"How long have you known," I asked. This I truly didn't know. According to the show it was during Spirit Week but I don't rely on it for information.

"About the test, only a couple of days," Jazz replied.

"Not that," I informed her. I removed the note from my pocket, "your handwriting. Your headband."

"What, that," Jazz blushed. "I didn't write that," she started speaking too fast, a sure sign of lying for Jazz. "And there must be a dozen headbands…"

"Jazz," I said sternly, letting her know it was over.

"Since the Spectra thing," Jazz sighed. That still doesn't answer my question. Spectra has attacked twice and Jazz was involved both times. "I wanted you to tell me. It's your secret."

"It's our secret now," I replied.

We tightly hugged, forging this new journey.

"Don't think this means I'll stop being bossy and overprotective," Jazz informed me.

"Wouldn't have it any other way," I replied. She may be a pain but she's my pain sister.

A ghost sense burst through my mouth, interrupting our moment like always. Jazz smiled warmly at me, "Go!"

I smiled back at her, getting up and sensing out the ghost. As soon as I had it in my scope, I took off in its direction and transformed. "I'm going ghost!" It didn't take long before I was on top of him. He was huge… and unusual. "Hey giant, green and gruesome," I shouted. "Guess who's back and better than ever?" It didn't take much to defeat him. He wasn't powerful at all. I sucked the mess in the thermos and turned to Jazz. She was covered in his goo. That's what she needs time to get used to. "You never get used to that," I replied, sucking the goo off her.

O_O

Sam and Tucker exited the school before anyone else. They came running over to me, smiles on their faces. "I'm so glad you decided to do the right thing," Sam said, coming to rest by me.

"I'm so sorry that I ever thought that cheating was acceptable. I now know my lesson," I replied.

"Are you joining us," Tucker asked. I looked at him weird.

"I'm going home, little brother," Jazz replied, ruffling my hair. I sent a playful glare in her direction. "I'll see you tonight."

"All right," I replied. Jazz left the lot. "So, where are you guys going?"

"You're kidding, right," Sam asked. "The Nasty Burger blew up in an alternate timeline. We can't just forget about it, even if you have discovered the problem and stopped it."

"Oh, crap," I declared. "I need to find that!"

"You already did," replied Tucker, his eyebrow furrowing.

"I thought you meant something else," I lied. "Let's go!"

O_O

We scurried that lot over searching for what had caused the Nasty Burger to blow up. I couldn't figure out what could cause the building to explode in that alternate future and kill my family and Mr. Lancer. I knew that something caused it to blow up. I was there when it happened in the most recent explosion but as to what caused the blast I don't know. Anything in the area could kill them… but Dan had focused on one instrument. Sam and Tucker started following me after what I would guess is they saw my attitude change. Sure enough, the griddle was overheating the vat of Nasty sauce.

"That's it," Tucker asked, his voice in disbelief. "That's what took us out in that other timeline?"

They didn't have much of a chance in those timelines. "That's it," I replied solemnly. "Something as simple as an overheated vat of sauce killed everything I love and hold dear."

"Danny," Sam said slowly, "It wasn't your fault."

"How wasn't it my fault," I asked, pulling the griddle away from the vat. I switched the burner off. "Why did anyone have to suffer for my mistake; it should have been me!"

"It's like I told Sam," Tucker replied. "You made the mistake and we died for it. It wasn't us who suffered the most, Danny. You were left here, faced with what you had done—which is completely stupid. We got it easy, Danny. You were the one who suffered for ten years."

"My suffering didn't last long," I replied. "I lost my humanity. You heard him. He surrendered that part of him a long time ago."

"You learned something," Sam said, looking in my direction. I turned around from the griddle.

"A little," I replied. "I didn't have a whole lot of time to learn much."

"True," Sam replied. "So, now that we've found the cause of the explosion, all we have to do is patrol the area to keep people out."

"I guess," I replied. There was no harm now. Dan was in the thermos, the timeline has been altered, and the Nasty Burger won't blow up again. "Let's get some practice in."

"What kind of practice," Tucker replied.

"With the weapons," I replied. I know they must have tried to fight Dan and I don't blame them for falling. Even I fell to the sheer strength of the monster. But I want them prepared.

"Oh, come on," Sam replied. "I'm not going to shoot anyone! I don't care who's there or what they're doing. I won't shoot anyone."

"You've never had any problems before," I asked, confused. "When have you started shying away from shooting a ghost?"

"Oh, a ghost," Sam replied.

"All we have is our pistols," Tucker replied. He started to say something else in the same cool voice but I couldn't hear it. Finally, Tucker picked up on my mood change, "Danny?"

"You didn't have any ghost weapons," I roared. I was in infuriated. No wonder they couldn't fight back. They didn't have the proper weapons. "Where are your ghost weapons?"

"They're at home," Sam replied. "What is wrong with you? This was an average patrol. Ghosts weren't involved."

"How the hell do you know that," I shouted. "We live in a haunted town, guys. Ghosts are around every corner! How could you not pack a weapon or two?"

"You're always there," Tucker replied. "We don't need to prepare to defend ourselves."

This is my fault. They don't pack weapons because I'm always there. They never plan to face a ghost alone. "I won't always be there. What happens when you're facing a ghost and I'm not there? Are you just going to lie down and die?"

"No," Sam defended. "We would always fight to the death."

"That's the problem," I replied. I turned my back to them so they couldn't see the tears that threatened to form. They never had a chance. They didn't have any weapons on them and the only ones who did was Mom, Dad and Jazz. They aren't as good as Sam and Tucker. Dan was in control from the very beginning. "That's it," I finally turned to them. "Go home! And don't come back without ghost weapons. I don't care if we're on a routine patrol or ghost patrol. If you don't have a pistol and ghost weapons, don't bother showing up!"

"Danny," Tucker said, his voice rising. "What's the matter?"

"Just go," I replied. "It's too dangerous for you guys here. I'll see you later."

"No," Sam retorted. "You're stuck with us now. Tell us what is wrong!"

"You guys came out here tonight practically naked," I retorted. "That's what's wrong. Now, go get some ghost weapons or don't bother coming back."

"Fine," Sam retorted again. "But when we get back, you are explaining some things!"

Tucker and Sam stormed off the parking lot, leaving me alone with the building responsible for so much pain and suffering. I kicked one of the cinders clear across the parking lot. This was completely my fault. Their blood was on my hands. No wonder I lost my mind. It didn't even happen and I am going crazy.

_It's called guilt_, a female voice I was starting identify as my daughter replied. _But you have nothing to be guilty about, Mommy._

But I do, sweetheart, I replied. Can you hear my voice?

_Of course_, she replied. _It's soft and comforting. The loud voice sounds muffled and hard, though._

So she hears my real voice through her ears but the voice she thinks is mine is actually her own. That's why she thinks I'm a girl. I get it. When we communicated, I focused on the words, making them more powerful. That's the key to how she hears some of my thoughts but not the others. When I'm upset or angry, my thoughts are automatically forced. That's how she heard my previous thoughts. She won't hear this because they're just the simplistic thoughts. She's not like her Daddy.

Are you okay, sweetheart, I asked her, including her in my thoughts.

_I'm fine, Mommy. It was scary in the fight but I'm okay._

It finally clicked. That's why my alternate-self went through with life when everyone else died. I have an obligation to her. I may love my family more than anything, but there is one thing I hold above them.

As long as you're okay. You're the only thing that matters to me. If anything were to happen to you, I wouldn't have a reason for living.

_I love you, too, Mommy._

I laid my hands on my stomach, the closest thing to holding my little one for another five months. I wanted her in my arms because she was in considerable danger in me. Just to think how Invincible hurt her because she was the closest thing to a ghost when he showed up. He won't hurt her again. She is the only thing that matters. I've said it before, but it's the truth. It wasn't only my parents, my friends, my sister and my teacher that died through this. Lilly died that day when Dan killed me.

O_O

I wasn't surprised when Sam and Tucker returned with their weapons. They held them up, displaying them to me.

"Okay," I replied. "Just don't forget them again."

"Now, spill it," Sam replied. "What's got you like this?"

"Why shouldn't I be worried about your wellbeing," I asked. "In an alternate time line, you guys were killed. I think that's cause enough to be worried."

"You nearly die every day," Tucker retorted. "You never freak out like this over yourself."

"I'm like a beetle," I retorted. "You can't just swish me and I'm dead. You guys are like… you know what, I'm going to avoid the bug analogy."

"Thank you," Sam replied. "You're still human, though, Danny. You can die."

"Sure," I agreed, "but it's not as easy as any of us believed. Trust me. I've had a many of a situation where I've thought 'this is it.' Then I wake up, still alive."

"How many times," Sam asked. Her face paled considerably.

"Just a few," I replied. "The King was the most recent. You know."

"No, we don't know," Tucker retorted. "You don't let us know!"

"Don't worry about it," I brushed it away. "I over exaggerated."

"No you didn't," Sam barked back. "But I'm giving up. You won't ever allow us back in. We're just your side kicks. We're not your friends anymore."

I took a deep breath. I almost let her win there. This was psychology. She was trying to make me tell them things by goading.

"It didn't work," Tucker said, looking to Sam with amusements. "Close but no cigar."

"I won't ever hurt you guys," I said. "I've put you through too much already."

"Contrary to your belief, you haven't put us through enough. We chose this life. You were the one who was pushed into it," Sam replied.

"Not exactly," Tucker disagreed. "We were pushed into it as well but we choose to follow him."

And that's the part that makes me boiling mad. They can walk away at any time, much to my fear, but they choose to follow me. Actually, I don't know if I'm scared they'll leave or that they won't. It seems that anyone near me is in danger. I'm King Midas. Everything I touch becomes useless to me. The gold could not do the things that the closest people in King Midas's life could do.

Since I cannot wish this gift away, I guess I'll have to leave.

O_O

I made it home on time tonight because I didn't want to upset my parents. I worked diligently to finish my pre-shift so I could make it home on time. I came home with two minutes to spare. I tried to give myself ten minutes.

"You're home," Mom declared, happily.

"Yeah," I said, breathing hard. I couldn't resist the urge so I gave in. I hugged her tightly. "I love you, Mom."

"I love you, too, sweet heart," Mom laughed. "Is everything all right?"

"Yeah," I replied. "It's just… I don't say it enough. I want you to know… if anything should ever happen."

"Nothing's going to happen," Mom brushed it away. "But it's nice to hear it every once and a while."

"I'll try to remind you," I smiled as I pulled away. I moved towards my dad, "That goes for you as well," I replied. I hugged him as well, "I love you, Dad."

"Me too, kido," Dad replied, hugging me tightly. I didn't fake the gasping for breath although if I were normal, it wouldn't be faking.

"I'm going to bed," I replied once I rectified myself. "I'll see you guys in the morning. Night!"

"Night," Mom replied. "Oh, and Danny, tomorrow is Sunday!"

"I'll never forget this day," I murmured to myself. My parents couldn't have heard me so I didn't have to worry about their questions. Saturday, March 26, 2005 would burn its way into my mind for the rest of my life.

After I dressed for bed, I was about to go out for my night shift when my door opened. I turned in the direction, ceasing any rings that may try to appear. Luckily, it was just Jazz who walked in the room.

"Hey, Danny," Jazz said, peeking her head in my room. "Are you too tired to talk to me for a minute?"

"No, Jazz," I said, humor in my voice. "Come on in."

She pushed her way quietly in my room. I sat down on my bed and she followed my example. She was in her nightclothes as well, wrapped up in a robe. "I was wondering if you could answer some of my questions."

"Depends," I replied. "What do you want to know?"

"Who was that man," Jazz asked. "He said he was you but he couldn't have been. He was so evil!"

"Did he hurt you," I asked, diverting the question away from his origin. She didn't need to worry about that.

"Not really. He put me to sleep," Jazz said, her eyebrows furrowing. "It was a strange thing, really. I thought it would hurt but it just enveloped me and I fell asleep. I even thought I might be dead when I woke up in my bed this afternoon."

"Ectoplasm has the ability to take whatever form you want it to and it can hurt or it may not. It's up to what the ghost wants to do with it," I responded. "I've been trying to learn my ectoplasm but it's a complicated ability."

"You don't know everything about your powers," Jazz asked in awe. "You seem like such a natural!"

"It's all part of the act," I chuckled. "I'm clueless out there!"

"I am so very proud of you," Jazz replied. "When I found out, I was so scared for you but then I saw that you were very capable. The way you took down Spectra… I couldn't have been prouder."

"I should have known there was more to that reaction than what I thought," I chuckled again. "I thought you were mad because she singed your hair!"

"She hurt you," Jazz said, her eyes darting to the wall. "And not physical hurt though she tried that as well. No, she had to hurt you psychologically. Make you believe that you were a freak! That saying still echoes in my head."

"What saying," I asked, confused. So many things have happened since Spirit Week that I barely remember any of it in detail. Heck, with what had happened the week before, hardly anything from Spirit Week stuck out.

"She had you pinned against the wall in storage that day. 'Look at you,' she seethed. 'What are you? A ghost trying to fit in with humans or a creepy little boy with creepy powers.' Oh, her nerve," Jazz seethed herself. She let out something that sounded too much like a roar. "If I ever see her again, I swear I will peel her straight to hell!"

"Jazz, calm down," I chuckled. "That's nothing! I know that I'm different but I don't need someone to tell me that I'm a freak or I'm special. I'm not affected by that stuff!"

"She got to you that day. You told her that you were both, neither and that you didn't know. You are a hero, Danny. You save people's lives!"

There's that word again! "I'm not a hero," I denied. "I'm just a boy trying to make a difference."

"You saved our town," Jazz cried. "We would have died if you didn't stop that bad guy." Her demeanor changed and I knew her attention went somewhere else but a place I didn't want to go either. "Can you tell me some things about that day?"

"The King," I asked. "He was the King of All Ghosts. The Wisconsin Ghost accidently released him in his pursuit of the Crown of Fire and the Ring of Rage. He's asleep in the Sarcophagus of Forever Sleep."

"What happened at the battle," Jazz asked. Oh, Jazz! Don't wonder about the past and don't fear the future. "You were pretty sick when you came back. How low did that suit go? Do you know who stole the suit? How did you escape that place?"

I chuckled, "Don't worry about it, okay. I'm fine now. The suit is gone. I know who has it but I can't do anything about it. I don't know where he has it."

"How low did the suit go," Jazz asked again.

"Low," I gave in a bit. "But I'm okay now and you don't need to worry about the past."

"I'm not worrying," Jazz denied. "I'm just curious."

"Well, don't be. I'll see you in the morning," I replied, walking over to my door. I opened it, "Goodnight, Jazz."

"Goodnight," Jazz said, dejected. She left my room, crestfallen.

As soon as she was gone, I transformed and went to start my late night shift.

O_O

I saw Invincible again tonight. We fought but neither one would yield as the loser. He retreated again to perfect his fighting or his game plan. I went home. It was two-forty-five. I would get forty-five more minutes of sleep tonight.

I flew through my window and powered down. The blast of light revealed Sam and Tucker sitting in my room. I jumped back, not expecting to see them. As soon as I was human again, I could clearly see them despite the dark. I just missed them because I wasn't looking for them.

"What on Earth are you doing out this late," Sam asked, her voice going high. "It's after two-thirty, Danny!"

"I know that," I replied, coming to sit down beside them. "What are you guys doing here?"

"Sam came over last night and we wanted to spend the night with you," Tucker replied, his voice low. "It's been a long night."

I heard the message between the lines. They were scared. "I'm sorry, guys. I'm always out this late. Ghosts are nocturnal, you know. Are you guys, okay?"

"Yeah," Sam said, her voice quiet. "It's just… we've always been afraid of losing you but yesterday was really different. It actually wasn't you who died in that alternate timeline, it was us. You had a tough time, too, and that also adds to it."

I put my hand on hers, "Listen to me, I will never allow anything to happen to you guys if I can help it. I will protect you guys with my dying breath."

"That's also a part of it," Tucker cut in. "There's more than ourselves that we have to look out for. Mom, Dad, and I imagine Jazz died as well. Could you imagine what that would do to Mom and Dad?"

"I heard it was rough," I said quietly.

"What," Tucker asked.

"I left Amity Park," I replied. "I couldn't take living with Mom and Dad Number Two."

"How did you find this out," Sam asked me, looking in my eyes.

"He told me," I replied. "I done the one thing you told me not to, Sam. I separated Fenton and Phantom. I was, supposedly, angry at Phantom for not saving you guys. When it came down to who would… um, be the dominate life force, Phantom surrendered Fenton. He was pure evil. Dan had no more humanity inside him."

"Dan," Tucker asked, surprised. "He went by Dan?"

"Yeah," I answered.

Sam wrapped her arms around my waist and for the first time in my life, I felt uncomfortable. I gingerly laid my arms around her shoulders. "I just miss the way we used to be," Sam said, her voice exhausted. "The closeness. The friendship. The trust."

"I miss it too," I admitted. "But I fear hurting you guys more."

"When are you going to get that we've never been hurt more than when you're silent," Sam replied from between my arms. "It's like every secret you keep from us is like a needle through the heart. But when you tell us something, it's like you remove that needle."

"Maybe someday," I said slowly, "I'll be able to share with you guys everything that goes on in my life."

"Maybe," Sam replied. I pulled Sam down and allowed her to lie on my chest. Tucker lay down beside me as well and we practically slept on top of each other. In our younger years, this was nothing unusual.

O_O

We descended the stairs, coming into the living room. Surprisingly, both Dads were in the living room. I stopped by the couch, wondering why Dad Number Two was here. Football season was over and that was the only time he came over besides holidays.

"Dad," Tucker asked, confused.

"Hello," Dad Number Two greeted. "Thank you for telling us you were coming over here last night." I could tell from the sarcasm that Tucker done no such thing.

"Why are you over here," Tucker asked, confused. Sam and I both mirrored each other, crossing our arms and listening intently.

"Why wouldn't we be over," Dad asked as if it were obvious.

"It's Easter," Dad replied, giddy. "The Easter Bunny is coming to town!"

"The Easter Bunny is nothing but a child-like fantasy to mass market the resurrection of Christ," Mom declared from the doorframe. Mom Number Two stood behind her, amusement on her face.

"Oh," I said, realization dawning on me. "Oh, no. It can't be already."

"Afraid so," Mom Number Two smirked. "So the fight begins."

"The Easter Bunny is so true," Dad declared. "I've seen him before!"

"I grew up with you," Mom barked back. "If you saw him, I missed Peter Cottontale!"

I backed out of the room, wanting to add distance. How could it be Easter already? Wasn't it just Christmas a few months ago. Shoot, I hate how Easter changes drastically every year. I thought I had another month before I had to endure this torture.

"Uh," Sam said, a little confused, "What's going on?"

"We usually spend Easter at your place," Tucker smirked. "It snuck up on us so we didn't have the chance to escape. You've never heard 'the fight'."

"Mr. Fenton believes in the Easter Bunny," Sam asked, her eyes wide.

"Apparently," Tucker remarked. My mood had changed completely, my arms crossed against my chest in a display of my unhappiness. "No one knows when it began but if you notice Danny, he's quite moody."

"I know that," Sam said quickly, "I just never put much thought to it. He's actually a bit darker."

"That's because you've never seen him around the fight," Tucker answered.

I grunted aloud. "I need to release some stress," I declared. "Why don't you guys go over to Sam's and hang out. I'll be in the Ghost Zone if you need me!"

I didn't wait for their objections or their opinions about how stupid that was. I just transformed and flew back to my house, carefully avoiding my crazy parents. Who cares if the Easter Bunny exists or not? Shouldn't spending time with family and keeping a peaceful atmosphere be more important?

O_O

I stole some old Easter decorations on my way to the basement and used them as targets of my rage. "He's real," I screamed, projecting my frustration at one helpless ornament. "It's a promotional gag!" I blew another ornament up. "Real. Gag! Real! Gag! I've had it!"

One ornament went too far so I blindly sent a blast after it. However, something else accompanied the blast. I looked up in surprise to find a ghost under a storm of ashes. "Oops," I called, surprised to see anyone else there. Was I that preoccupied that I didn't notice a ghost?

"Oops;" he declared, angry. "Boy, to complete that I had to jump through hoops!"

I stared at him in confusion by his response. "What?"

"Do you believe your confession; can alter my aggression?"

What the hell? "Look, man, it was an accident. What exactly did I destroy?"

"A great art of work I adorn;" he retorted. "But now it's all forlorn!"

"Why are you rhyming," I asked, confused. "And what was that stupid thing I blew up?"

"It was my contribution to Easter in poetry;" he continued to talk in rhyme, "that not one, thanks to you, may ever read!"

"It was an Easter book written in rhyme," I asked, cocking my eyebrow. Why didn't he just say that? "So I destroyed an Easter book. Cool!"

"How can you be so disregarding; of those you leave in your parting?"

"One, that rhyming is annoying. Two, I'm sick of Easter. I came to the Ghost Zone to escape it. I didn't mean to destroy your book, but that doesn't mean I'm not okay with it!"

"You are truly a spirit at unease;" he said, his voice going low, "You shall see the errors of your ways before your release!"

"And you are," I asked, wondering why his eyes just suddenly turned red. Did I say something?

He leapt into the air and his power presented itself to me. I stared in horror as a keyboard materialized around him, "I am the Ghost Writer, guardian of this place;" he declared, "and you shall reside in my new book I will write to replace; the one you destroyed in your mindless fun; because from this keyboard your life shall come."

He shot a beam from the keyboard and it penetrated through me. I opened my eyes to find myself in my human form, back at Fentonworks. What the crap just happened?

O_O

'The weather and attitudes of Amity Park were cheerful and bright; yet not all shared in the day's delight.'

Hey, that voice, it's that ghost whose book I destroyed.

I'm trapped in his poem? Now I'm really annoyed.

'See, Danny Fenton hates this holiday, a reason not to be known.

'To understand this situation, I have invaded his home.

'With him until this story has ended I shall stay; to teach him the errors of his wicked ways.'

So, to teach me a lesson, you've trapped me in your work.

What have I done? No one got hurt.

'Ah, but there's more to this tale than pain and suffering.

'What you done was not the right thing; and I must warn that...'

But you can't make me rhyme!

Sam greeted me in a friendly manner, "What are you doing back?"

I smacked my hand to my face, frustration growing.

I swear I feel as there's something I should be throwing.

"Has he always been this way," Sam asked our friend.

"How could I possibly miss such a noticeable trend?"

"Danny's embarrassed of the fight between the two; wishing to spare the drama from you." Tucker kept his voice low and calm; gently touching his hand to Sam's arm.

'You'll find my abilities to be quiet impressive; and my holidays really festive. I enjoy the holidays and love my rhymes.

'It's something that never grows old through the times.'

Well, I must say that the talking in rhyme sucks.

I never imagined something so simple could run amuck.

'Everyone else I will control with my powers and keyboard; but you I shall leave your freedom so I can have my reward.'

I groaned aloud, coming to the understanding; that I am stuck in this story until this ghost meets his reprimanding.

"What's the matter," Tucker asked confused.

"We're in a book, we're being used! I blew up this ghost's story,"

'Danny said without remorse.'

"And now we're trapped in by force."

'But Sam and Tucker merely shrugged in confusion; completely convinced by my ghostly illusion.'

So that's how you're going to play, I demanded in a forced tone.

Messing with my friends minds isn't wrong?

'I'm doing this for a greater purpose.

'It's you who deserves this!'

I landed on the couch with a heavy sigh; listening to Tucker retell the histories of the worst days of my life.

"The first Easter he celebrated as a kid; turned out really bad, it truly did. Dad brought home a hound; to track the Easter Bunny down. As Mom argued with Dad about the little fellow; they didn't see Danny's world turn yellow. Then there's the countless turkey's brought to life; slurring revenge with fork and knife. While this occurrence happens all times of the year; Easter has embodied that fear."

I groaned again, thinking I should have spent the day with Vlad.

'Indeed you should have, instead of being moody and bad.'

"Hey, Danny, I have a plan," Dad reported.

"We should go to the rabbit farm where they're all assorted."

"Do I have to," I asked, a sigh in the air.

'Yes, you do. I can have some fun there.'

"I think it'd be a good adventure," Sam suggested.

"I'd have more fun getting arrested!"

But Dad wouldn't accept my no; and even Mom agreed to go. We went to the rabbit farms in what used to be Tillings Gulch; and Sam showed us how to make compost out of mulch. I kept my eyes peeled for any activity; but what it was I thought it couldn't be.

'Just as I planned, the scene was just right.

'What better way to spend Easter than with ghostly rabbits coming to life?'

To my horror, the rabbits began to take flight.

'The citizens of my town started to scream so I ran out of sight, bringing forth the ring of light.

"I'm going ghost,"

'Came his signature cry; and into the scene, Danny Phantom did fly.'

They were tiny ghosts, this was true; but in my town, I've seen weaker make do. I made a pledge to stand by my town…

'Yet you destroy other's properties when you're around.'

It was an accident, I barked back.

Jeez, these little things know how to sack; a market to pieces with the proper party.

If my parents catch us, I'm certain we'll all be sorry.

I chased the small yet fast prey; but obviously, I wouldn't catch them today. I crashed in the gift shop section; coming up with a set of rabbit ears pointed in the wrong direction.

'The rabbits left, having torn up the farm.

'Most people started wondering what was going on.

'I couldn't have him be the hero of this tale; so I made the people scream and yell.'

"This is your fault," they screamed at the half ghost.

'Today, they would hate the ghost they love the most.'

"I'm going home," I declared to my parents after powering down.

Maybe this nightmare will end if I stop hanging around.

'This story doesn't end until you've learned your lesson.

'You've got to know with whom you're messing!'

Perhaps you should take the same advice; because I don't give up and I don't mess up twice!

O_O

Back at home, things didn't get any better.

Things were getting worse, down to the letter.

The Manson's called Sam home; and the Foley's left Mom and Dad to fight alone.

I really wished for some company but what's the use?

There's nothing I can do to convince them of this abuse.

Mom and Dad were bickering with each other; while my sister and I tried to take cover. The argument is the same every year; and neither one will call the other honey or dear. This is the only time; I can see my parents on separate sides of the line.

Look, I'm sorry I destroyed your stupid book; but this holiday is bad enough without the added hook. What can I do to escape this text; and resume my life in this jumbled mess?

'This isn't something you can talk your way through; the only way is to understand what and what not to do.'

So you're serious about teaching me a lesson.

I don't take orders and I'm sick of people messing; with my mind! This rhyme ends now!

"Mom looks about to have a cow!"

I screamed out loud, the frustration hitting an all-time high.

I came to my feet, sick of living a lie.

"Will you look at what this argument has brought?

"This is the only time I know you have fought; over a stupid myth or legend.

"What about your family or your friends? Don't you think it's time for this to end?

"I've put up with this argument far too long!

"I hope you know why now I'm gone!"

I stormed out the door, vowing to never rhyme after this ends.

I need to destroy that ghost and make amends.

Jelly beans, golden coins and small tin-wrapped rabbits swirled around.

They coalesced around from all over town.

Is this your doing, taking candy from the residents? What's that supposed to do?

'A, make a huge scene and B, blame you!'

I don't understand, how is this supposed to make a scene.

Surely chocolate morsels couldn't mean; that much to this town.

Then, I looked down.

Easter eggs and Easter baskets galore; some homemade and some from the store. They all gathered around, creating a big mess.

For I know, I will be blamed for this.

From below came an angry shout, "I knew one day they'd figure you out!"

A painful shock shook my frame; as my Dad screamed out my ghost-form's name.

"Danny Phantom," Dad screamed in disgust.

"Why would they ever give you their trust?"

This isn't good, I must admit.

I need to escape but I can't run from it.

How to escape an Easter poem is the question?

Why not at a place where tensions are bound to lessen!

O_O

"Sam,"

'Danny declared out loud.'

"What are you doing here? Can't you see we're under a cloud?

"The Easter eggs, the baskets and the candy have all disappeared.

Easter is ruined, just as we feared."

"Listen, Sam, we're all in trouble!

"We have to stop the Ghost Writer and on the double!"

"You're still trying to sell me this side,"

Sam retorted. "Don't you think I know you lied!"

Messing with me is one thing but messing with my friends is crossing the line.

When this story is done, I will make you pay, big time!

'Enough of this, I'm placing my money; on the 50 foot giant bunny.'

What are you talking about, I pondered to myself.

From all across town, the chocolate started to melt.

A giant Easter Bunny began to form, nuts and all.

"Oh, nuts," I cried as I phased Sam through a wall.

She's highly allergic to those two things; so I left her be and summoned the rings.

O_O

The chocolate bunny wasn't hard to beat; he scorched and burnt on the street.

However, that was the ghost's plan from the first; making my relation with the town and my friends worse.

I tried to comfort my friends and my sister; I swear to you, I will make you pay, Mister!

My family walked away, causing me to vow; I will fix this damn mess somehow!

I passed the Jee residence, deciding to take a peak; playing in the living room was Kwan's little brother Jake!

He waved excitedly at me, finally a friendly face.

'With anger it shall be replaced.'

The displays, inside and out; came to life with an angry shout.

Jake shrieked, but help him, I could not; for all across town my town was wrought.

They gathered across town and in homes too!

What else can this crazy ghost do?

The ghostly decorations had a common enemy; for they set their sights on little old me!

I was grateful for at least the tension was aimed right; unlike with what happened last night.

I shot blast after blast but no good came.

For the decorations were not the same; as the previous attacks.

For these monsters were good at fighting back.

_Danny, Danny, baby, where are you_, a stranger replied in my mind.

Someone cares enough not to leave me behind.

I tried to find the one who cared; but I was overwhelmed and unprepared.

_If only he could hear me, I could tell him to yell._

"Of course," I declared. "With my ghostly wail!"

I gathered the strength up to release my lethal attack.

And when I released it, there was little they could do to retract.

Suddenly, the area became clear; So my mother could appear.

The power had drained me of my energy stored; and I sat on my hands and knees in my human form.

"Sweetheart," my mother cried, retracting her weapons of choice.

She laid a coat upon me, softness in her voice.

"Honey, home is where you should be.

"Let's go back and I'll make you some tea."

We returned home, my dad giving me a hug.

Then Mom gave me her hot chocolate in a mug.

O_O

I need to rethink this entire situation; find out what I have been missing.

If this is truly linked to the guy; perhaps I should visit, set this right.

'But you forget who runs this show; but I don't have to remind you though.'

The library where the nightmare all began disappeared before my eyes.

And the new location assembled all my enemies and bad guys.

Skulker, Ember, Boxy and Technus; gave me an evil grin, "Glad you could join us!"

Skulker gave me a red plastic cup; "Eat, drink, and rest up!"

"What's taken you so long to partake;" Ember greeted me with carrot cake.

"You've been a ghost for nearly a year; surely you know about the holiday truces held here!"

"Are you saying there's a cease of fire," I asked, no longer trying to perspire.

"Indeed," Walker smirked at me. "Why do you think the attacks ceased on Christmas Eve?"

"And they resumed again once Christmas had gone," I declared; "Then why has Ghost Writer attacked me. It just isn't fair!"

"Are you under attack as we speak," Skulker asked with a frown.

"Yes, by some rhyme-talking clown!

"This is unacceptable! He shall be placed under arrest!"

"I wonder how you'll pass this test."

I responded with a grin.

'Oh, man!

'I forgot about the common law; if they break in, on me they'll maw!

'But, I am still in control of your tiny world.

'And I will display that through the flame-haired girl!'

Ember cranked up her guitar and rocked it at me.

I was shot away to where they couldn't see.

'The ghosts decided to forget their holiday truce; and once again the weaker were at their abuse.'

The Ghost Writer was narrating the story as it went; so to throw him off I need his story to take a hit. Something that doesn't rhyme should do the trick; and I believe I just spotted it.

"Hey, Ghost Writer, try this on for size," I said, pushing into Walker's face my prize.

"Young Danny picked up an orange;" he started to narrate aloud.

"Crud! Nothing rhymes with orange!" I was proud!

With the power of the keyboard no longer in effect; I powered up my fists to take care of it!

"Roses are red, violets are blue; once these fry," I teased as I blasted his precious keyboard to bits. "I'm guessing this lame poem is… through. No," I cried, "I'm still talking in rhyme!"

Ghost Writer smirked at me, "I would have forewarned you if given the time."

"There are two ways to end this story, just two.

"I'd type out the end but now I can't, thanks to you.

"You'll finish up the tale of the ghost who hates Easter.

"Wonder how you'll do without me to guide you there?"

O_O

The Ghost Writer was taken away; but I'm left here, unknowing what to say.

I went back home but I didn't belong; my family and friends still believe I did wrong.

I walked the streets but carnage followed; the town's happiness hollowed.

Afraid of causing any more destruction in my wake; I sat down, wondering how much of this I can take?

A set of hands propped on my head.

I looked up to see something red.

Tucker looked down at me, a grin on his face.

"What are you doing in this place?"

"It's all my fault," I sighed.

Tucker took a seat by my side.

"Sorry I'm late," Sam called as she came near.

I guess I was wrong about the curse still being here.

"I just arrived," Tucker welcomed her around.

"Come and sit down!"

"What's the matter," Sam asked me, worried.

"I made such a mess," I declared, hurried.

"I've done nothing but make things worse!

"I'd do anything to stop this curse!"

"What curse, Danny. I do not understand."

I sighed, "The one placed on by my own hand.

"It isn't the town that was trapped in this book.

"It's me, for I am the one who I've hurt.

"All this time, I've forbidden myself from enjoying this day.

"And I've blamed my parents for being this way!"

Sam and Tucker placed their hands on top of mine; but I couldn't take my eyes off the Easter decorations—all fine!

"Are you guys seeing what I am?"

"The decorations, Sam!"

Sam faced in another direction, "Look, the Easter baskets! They're flying through the air!"

"They're repairing themselves," I cried, "But how."

"Beware!"

I powered up a blast, transforming into my alter ego; but what I saw made me extinguish it, though.

"The Box Ghost shall conquer this Passover doom!"

"We couldn't leave you to suffer and gloom!"

Lunch Lady stood there, floating beside her future man.

It amazed me, the compassion outpoured by them.

"While we do not see eye to eye," Skulker addressed.

"We will help you clean up this mess!

"Do not think that this changes things, runt; because tomorrow I will resume the hunt!"

O_O

Times of peace can be a beautiful thing; my enemies helping us bring; the happiness back to my town; and return what we found.

Sam, Tucker and I returned the objects that belonged to the Baxter clan; and helping us was an over joyous Lil' Dan.

When all belongings had been returned safe and sound; I changed back after looking around.

Skulker handed me the things that belonged at my house; our ghost shield keeping them out.

"I can take it from here," I replied.

"Thank you for being on my side!"

"As I said," Skulker replied, pulling out a gun.

"Tomorrow, we'll have fun!"

O_O

At my house, both sets of parents sat; we three came in, wearing rabbit ear hats.

"Ghosts," Mom declared, pointing a gun at me.

"No, it's the Easter Bunny," Dad believed.

I guess they're both sort of right.

Sam and Tucker will become half ghost, but luckily they're not tonight.

Dad clapped three times, turning on the emergency lights.

And they all smiled as we three filled their sights.

"Kids," Mom greeted us, relief on her features.

"I brought these," I said, showing the items saved by the creatures.

"You kids are our greatest gifts," Mom Number Two declared.

She walked over to me and ruffled my hair.

"Still," I said, my voice low.

"I wanted to save Easter, though."

"Easter was never ruined," Mom said with love.

"Our family is together and that's enough."

O_O

My family was happier and honestly, too, so was I.

The moral of this story is appearing before my eyes.

All people are different, this I know.

But I took for granted that, so; I've come to respect what makes us unique.

And maybe next year, I won't be so bleak.

O_O

"Okay," Sam said. She looked at me strange. "What's with the sentiment?"

"Yeah," Jazz laughed. "You sound like a Hallmark Card!"

"No way," I replied. "Catfish! Hockey puck! Yes," I cried.

"Danny," Tucker chuckled.

"We're not talking in rhyme," I said slowly, earning the stares from my family. "We're not talking in rhyme!"

"Why would we be talking in rhyme," Sam asked.

"I swear to you, I wasn't making it up," I declared.

"Okay," Sam said, with a mock acceptance.

"I'm just glad to put this behind me," I sighed, sinking into the couch.

"What happened," Mom asked me, confusion in her voice.

"We've been trapped in an Easter book," I replied. I didn't have to hide that from her. I'm not confessing to being a half ghost.

Mom laughed aloud, "How were we trapped in a book?"

"A ghost," I replied. "He made Amity Park the scene of his story."

"And you know this, how," Mom Number Two asked.

Okay, I didn't think that through. "Uh," I groaned. "You guys don't," I asked after a pause.

"Apparently," Dad Number Two smirked.

"Ignore him," Sam smirked. "He's a bit moody today."

"Not anymore," I said, laying my head back. I closed my eyes, "I'm going to take things slowly. I'm tired of living in a fast pace. Life is way too short!"

Tucker chuckled, "You're telling us! At least we'll have eternity at some point."

"Okay," Mom replied, her voice drawing the word out. "What's up with you kids?"

"Nothing much," Sam said softly. "It's just something that happened recently."

I shut my eyes tighter, keeping my mind blank. The poem wouldn't let me put too much focus on it. I made one reference to it the entire time. I would have it still on my mind if I was able to rhyme it with something. The breathing worked, though, allowing me to relax again.

"Are you okay, Danny," Mom asked me. Sam and Tucker both took a hand, squeezing them.

"I'm fine," I replied. I sat up, removing my hands from theirs. "I'm fine," I repeated, looking at them. I should be comforting them.

"You don't have to go through this alone," Tucker said softly. "You can lean on us."

"You guys," I tried to chuckle. It didn't work the way I wanted it to. I was being sucked back inside that hole. "Come on, let's just drop it. I've had a bad enough day. I would like to try to end the day in the way I began it: on a high note." They slept over last night and I woke up, buried under my friends. I can't think of a better way to start a day.

"Okay," Sam sighed. "Just know, we're here."

"I wouldn't have it any other way," I replied, finally replacing my hand in theirs. They smiled weakly at me but I could see the happiness just under the surface. We three knew how close we came to being separated and I alone knew how much closer it really was.

O_O

I limped in the house, holding my side but the action doing nothing to lessen the pain. I really should go to the clinic but it's closed and I would have to call Dr. Reynolds personally. I would pull myself out of this the way I pulled myself out of that crater. Stupid Invincible. He got cleaver tonight but I won't fall for that again. He couldn't do the damage himself. No, he had someone… or a thousand someone's come in and break me in. He got me good this time.

"Daniel James Fenton, where have you been," Mom's angry voice cut above my racing head. Everything hurt. I don't believe there was a place on my body that wasn't slashed by something of his weaponry. I didn't feel like lying tonight. I didn't feel like doing anything but going to bed.

"Please, not now," I groaned. "Look, I'm sorry I'm late but some things I just can't help!" This night just keeps getting better and better. I'm finally willing to give Easter a second chance and this had to happen. Well, it's not Easter anymore. It's after three.

"Daniel, it is three-twenty-two in the morning and this is the first time you've come in this house," Mom declared. "I want some answers!"

"And I want some sleep!" I groaned aloud, wincing at the pain. I didn't want to go through this right now. Pain is a precious comity to me right now and when I'm experiencing it, I get a little mouthy. With my parents, it is never a good idea to sass. "Please, Mom. I'm tired, I'm sore and I might say something I wouldn't normally say. Can we discuss this tomorrow?"

"Okay," Mom replied. I limped up the stairs, trying to make the movement subtle. I don't believe she saw it in the dark.

**AN: I will post a companion to the entire story of Bitter UNIONS. If anyone out there has read the story and would like to mention some things that you think readers who can't or don't want to read the first story should know, please PM me some suggestions. Even if you are reading this after tomorrow, I can always update the companion. It will serve as the introduction to New Beginnings. I appreciate any help I can get. When you've been writing and thinking of this story as long as I have, some things become so common place that you overlook some things.**

**Any feedback is appreciated. Review please and check out the forums. Anyone out there waiting for the last chapter companion to Bitter UNIONS, it has been up since last night. Tomorrow it will go down but you can find all my chapter companions in the forms. Here is the url:**

**fan fiction dot net slash my forums slash Team 04 Phantom slash 3876657**


	4. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer: I do not own Danny Phantom.**

**Warning: This story contains reference to rape, sexual content, male sex and pedophilia. If any of this disturbs you, please do not read.**

**Chapter Four: Everything's Changed**

I came down the stairs a short three hours later. Normally, that would be plenty of sleep. Lately, I've been lucky to get three hours of sleep but with my injuries, the more sleep the better. I would skip the first three periods today to get bandaged up. I couldn't face my first ghost like this. My powers were out of whack anyway from the Ectoranium.

"Danny," Mom groaned from the top of the stairs when I reached the main floor. "What are you doing up?"

"What are you talking about," I asked. "I checked today's date. It's Monday." I didn't want to get out of bed if I didn't have to. It was really just wishful thinking. As I said, I'll never forget Saturday and there's been a day since then (won't be forgetting yesterday anytime soon, either.)

"It's Monday all right," Mom said, the lack of sleep evident from the distance. She started moving towards me. "Of Spring Break."

I groaned. You mean I didn't have to get up yet! "Oh, I totally forgot about Spring Break following Easter…"

"You forget a lot lately," Mom groaned, making her way down the steps. "Like curfews!"

"Look, I'm sorry I have responsibilities you couldn't begin to fathom," I barked. I put my head in my hand as soon as I spat out. First, that was rude. Second, that was reckless. And third, that was suicidal! "I'm sorry, I'm really tired. I'm saying things I don't mean."

"I wish you'd include me in your life," Mom said, the hurt on her face. As she came closer, I noticed she was extremely tired too and unable to keep the mask she worked hard to create. I know my pulling away was a crushing blow to her. I was equally as crushed.

"That's not possible," I replied. She finally made it to the main floor, her movements incredibly reduced. I began to walk towards the kitchen. "Coffee," I rasped. It was almost tempting to run the water through my ectoplasm. Almost. I don't think that'd taste good.

O_O

Mom didn't push for an explanation once. After we drank two pots of coffee, Mom went to the lab to do some work while Dad slept and I went to the free clinic. They were in by seven and it was after seven by time we finished our coffee break. Dr. Reynolds nearly took my head off for not calling her and told me to never do that again. She checked Lilly over and dismissed me. When I made it home, Sam and Tucker were drinking a cup of coffee as well.

Sam and Tucker were furious with me for not calling last night. They gave me an order all my own that I forgot about as I became Invincible's personal butchering hog. I didn't tell them about the Ectoranium. No point in worrying them. I just told them I forgot and I would call them tonight after patrol. With school dismissed for Spring Break, we decided to go to headquarters.

O_O

"You're crazy," Sam shot at me. We were in the mats at headquarters. "And I'm not doing it!"

"Come on, Sam," I pleaded. I wanted to use this time wisely but they were being difficult. "It's just a one. It won't kill me!"

"We're not playing target practice on you," Tucker objected.

"You guys will not see a real ghost in practice! To be prepared, you must practice on a real ghost," I objected. "The guns will be set to one so it won't even hurt. It'll just simulate the pressure and the unpredictability of a real ghost fight."

"No," both Sam and Tucker declared at the same time. I knew this wouldn't be easy but I never expected it to be impossible.

"I won't hold back," I replied. "You'll get to see me in action."

"We see you in action all the time," Sam retorted. "Why would that convince us to shoot you?"

"Because it will give us the opportunity to discover who the best is," I remarked, getting an idea. "I'll be right back," I held up one finger. I turned intangible and blasted to the house. I transformed back into a human and came out in the open. "Mom," I called. I could hear her at the workstation.

"Danny," Mom asked in surprise. "I thought you kids went out this morning."

"I turned back real quick," I replied. "Do you still have those ghost simulators that you built to help Dad with his aim?"

"Somewhere in the vault, honey," Mom replied. "Why?"

"We were thinking about doing some low-risk role-playing," I replied. "I hoped you wouldn't mind."

Mom put down her invention and led me upstairs to the vault. We rummaged around for a bit until she came across them. "Now," Mom began, "You don't want to use a volt over three. Anything higher and the shock will transfer from the simulator to the human. It will hurt if it does that. It may not kill you but the higher it goes, the more of a possibility that becomes. The ghosts in this simulator are a five. You can't go over that or it'll kill 'the ghost'."

"Okay," I replied. "Thanks!"

"No problem," Mom smiled at me. "Just don't think this gives you a pass to go into the field. Ghost hunting is still too dangerous for you kids."

"Wouldn't think of it," I smiled. I ran out the door. After checking my surroundings, I transformed and flew back to headquarters. Luckily, Mom never wondered where we would be holding this low-risk role-playing game.

O_O

"What are those," Sam asked as soon as she saw the simulators.

"You want to be half-ghosts," I asked, holding them up. "Let's see if you can be shot like one."

"No way," Sam declared. Excitement filled her eyes.

"I'll put away the sometimes living-sometimes breathing weapon for one that can be shot out of my hands," I cracked a smile.

"I'm in," Tucker declared.

"Same here," Sam jumped up from her seat. They each took a simulator and I slipped one on over my clothes. The ghosts in the simulator, all created by Mom and Dad, would take the blasts. I would be unharmed in this mock battle. Mom and Dad created them after we watched Starship Troopers. Dad gave up on getting a perfect shot and Mom and Dad locked them away in the weapons vault. This was the only way Sam and Tucker would shoot me.

O_O

It was intense. That's all I can say. We have been engaged for twenty minutes and I'm breathing hard. Sam and Tucker are both dripping of sweat (though Sam will deny it later). It takes a lot for me to sweat, so biologically speaking, we're equal. Sam and I both were interlocked in an epic battle to knock each other out when Tucker told us politely that we had more to fear than the other. I was skimmed in the arm and now my left hand is on lockdown. It sucks, too, because if this was real world, I would have already healed by now.

Most people say they'll tie one arm behind their back for dramatization. Let me tell you, it's not as easy as they play it up. I have one arm locked down but I'm not doing it to embarrass them. Hell, if anyone's embarrassed, it's me. Sam and Tucker aren't stopping the game for me to reset the damn thing. This is not turning out how I imagined it but I can't say it's all bad because I'm having a blast!

A hailstorm of fire from Sam's weapon rained on Tucker. He did a head over heels flip to escape her onslaught, coming to rest behind the barbell docks. Once he was safe behind cover, they entered into a heated combat. Tucker returned the fire on Sam, causing her to head for cover all her own. So that's how they're going to play? It is time for me to play a little Tucker here. I may have only one arm but I am still a threat to their 'wellbeing'.

I took some cover behind the weight station. There wasn't much cover but it was perfect to see around. Sam and Tucker had perfect cover but they couldn't see squat around their protective barrier. Here, I could see everything and manage a suitable comeback. I'm not out of this yet!

I took in their forms from my viewpoint. Sam was pretty well covered but Tucker wasn't exactly out in the open either. I had an advantage over neither one of them currently. They were both well covered. The next weak spot I need to weigh then would be distraction. Who is paying the least attention to me?

I know. I rested the gun against the mat, using my shoulder and my free arm to line my target up. Once it was in my sight, I shot. Sam yelped in surprise (not pain) as she fell on her butt from the impact. Crap, I didn't get a direct hit, though! Sam's not out, she is only 'injured.' When I fired the gun, the blaster rocked the mat, causing my shot to lose its focus. She looked at Tucker in surprise but Tucker saw the attack before she did.

"You should have kept an eye on Danny," Tucker chuckled. "You of all people should know to never count him out when he appears to be losing."

I cracked a smile despite my disappointment. It wouldn't take much to knock Sam out of the game, only the favor of Heaven and Earth. I lost that chance when I fired this gun. When it comes to us, element of surprise is the only element you have. The same thing goes when we're pinned against each other. I've always told the kids at the camp that I miss Sam and Tucker every day up until the day of the contest. I know if Sam and Tucker were involved in the camp, I may still be the reigning champion (that's a big maybe), but Sam and Tucker would be on my tail. I would not have the huge gap in points that separates me from the rest of the team.

"I hope you're ready to leave, ghost boy," Sam called to me, mock anger in her voice. I could just barely detect the laughter in her voice. The fact that I could get a shot that far into her fortress without her knowing about it thrilled her. I believe she saw it coming too late but I'm giving her a benefit of the doubt. She may be thrilled that I led a successful attack against her without her discovering the plan.

"If you can do it with limited ability, Goth Girl," I retorted playfully. She was more 'injured' than I was. That suit would be like plaster on her skin. Starship Troopers inspired Mom and Dad but the suit resembled their hazmat suits with pressure points. When you took a shot in a vital area, the suit became extremely tight. Sam's suit was most likely forty percent locked down. I only had ten percent of the suit locked down.

Sam raised up her gun, her movements really limited. I couldn't figure out her plan to take me out. She wasn't even pointed at me… oh. Poor Tucker. Tucker yelped, taking the blast full in the middle of his chest. The whining of the suit reached both of our ears, the sound indicating that Tucker's suit was nonoperational. Tucker grunted, finally groaning. "Oh, come on!"

"You of all people should know to never tick me off," Sam spat out, the laughter still in her voice. "Now, to take out the Ghost Boy now that Techno-Geek is neutralized."

"Sorry, Tuck," I smirked even though he couldn't see it. "You were right to keep your eyes on me but you were too complacent with the idea of Sam taking me out first!"

"Don't remind me," Tucker groaned. "I should have known that she couldn't shoot her boyfriend first!"

"I'm not her boyfriend," I spat playfully while Sam retorted, "He's not my boyfriend!"

"And I would have totally shot Danny first but you were too easy of a target to pass up," Sam continued. Finally, the tension in the room went up. This was the moment of truth. Who was best: Sam or I? We'll find out sure enough.

O_O

Sam had more mobility than I had anticipated. Keeping the rounds firing from behind our stationary locations wasn't working. We hit the open field within two minutes of the face-off. She blasted me but I pulled out of it. She would have taken me out if I didn't see that move but instead she immobilized my kneecap. I still had my leg but I was dragging it. She did good. I would have dodged the attack but she improvised. I was impressed.

The battle was waging strong and neither one of us was willing to concede. We were both exhausted and ready to call it quits but our pride just wouldn't allow it. We had to know who the best was. Not knowing just wasn't an option. However, something inside me snapped and I was motivated to end this. I left myself in a vulnerable position but Sam was weary to take that shot. She didn't take my bait so I only had one choice. The only way to finish this was by brute force. I wasn't holding back in the least but I wasn't acting the way I would in a normal fight, either. The time to kick it up a notch had long passed.

I moved in closer, rolling over until I was practically on top of her. I didn't care if I was the winner or the loser. I just knew I needed to end this game. Sam retreated, taking refuge behind cover. I started firing on her, covering the area in a hail of fire. One blast made its contact, forcing her out of her hiding spot. More lights blinked on her suit, indicating what portions of her suit locked down. Sam tried to fight back but ultimately she was out. Another blast in her neck's pressure point ended the fight, her suit whining's its warning.

The game was over. Their suits resumed their mobility but I didn't wait. I ran into the living quarters.

I knew from past experiences what the feeling was and though it was rarely an emergency I knew I had better heed to its warning. I ran to the bathroom.

O_O

Later that night, I was lying on the couch against Vlad. Today was Monday so I had finished my French lessons. My powers had returned fifteen minutes ago and everything was back to normal. I would be heading out to patrol in forty-five minutes, though, but for now, I was with the father of my child. "Hey, Vlad," I asked softly, apprehensive about the question I was about to ask, "do you ever have… menstrual cycles?"

Vlad chuckled softly, the nervousness clearly in his voice. "I never knew what they were until we discovered your vagina but yeah, I've had menstrual cycles. Sometimes it comes out as bloody discharge similar to a woman's but through the penis but mostly mood swings are the only symptom."

"Well, I've added something new to the strange life of a halfa," I added in an aggravated tone. "I've been urinating though I shouldn't be."

"What do you mean," Vlad asked, intrigued. He looked at me from the side.

"Well, I hardly eat or drink anything," I replied, repositioning myself against his chest. "I should have nothing to, you know, pee out."

"Why haven't you been eating," Vlad asked concerned, though still intrigued. "I'd guess that's the baby's waste, though."

"That's what I assumed," I replied. "She has to be getting nutrition from somewhere. I guess I get it from somewhere, too."

Vlad snaked his arm around my shoulders. "Have you been having any discomfort," he asked me.

"Not really," I replied. "I'm really nauseas as you know and now today I had to pee."

"Are you still scared," Vlad asked. He laid his head against mine.

I swallowed the lump that formed in my throat, "Sometimes. I know I love her with all my heart," I smiled softly. "I wouldn't trade her for the world."

"Good," Vlad replied. "That makes two of us," he replied, kissing the top of my head. "Did something happen recently," Vlad asked suddenly. I had worked incredibly hard to keep the events of Saturday out of my mind. After Sam, Tucker and my game of scrimmage, it was relatively easy.

"Why do you ask," I asked, casting my eyes upward to look at him. He was very uncomfortable, his eyes on the far wall.

"It's just," Vlad paused, "You didn't come by for a while and your mind is practically blank. That worries me."

"You're reading my mind," I asked, not as upset as I thought I was.

"You've been really quiet," Vlad said, his voice soft. "I was wondering what was going off inside my lover's mind."

I heaved a sigh, rising off his chest. Vlad had focused his eyes on me when I took him in again. He looked worried. "Yeah," I said softly, wanting to face him as I told him this. "Something big happened. I've been trying to block it out of my mind."

"Talk to me," Vlad replied.

I laughed aloud, trying to keep myself from crying. My voice still broke. "I need someone to talk to," I said, the tears threatening to fall. Damn these hormones. "I done something really stupid a few days ago." Vlad didn't say anything, just took my hands in his. His full attention was on me. He made me feel like I was the only person in the world. "I've been so busy with the ghosts. When I did get a free moment, I blew it doing things I wanted to do. Saturday was the CAT. However, Friday, I accidently phased through the test answers. I thought it was a gift for all my hard work.

"However," I continued, wiping the stupid tears from my eyes, "I believe it was a test. I failed miserably but it wasn't I that had to deal with the failure." I paused for a moment as I allowed that to sink in and bring about the whammy. "Thursday until Saturday, I had been dealing with an alternate timeline. In this alternate timeline, my entire family was killed; Mom, Dad, Sam, Tucker, Jazz and Mr. Lancer—all because I cheated on a stupid test. But, that wasn't the gist of it…"

"You became like me," Vlad said, his voice soft. How the hell?

"Worse," I corrected him. "How did you—?"

"I met him," Vlad replied, his gaze falling to the couch. "I'm so sorry, Daniel. I thought he was the way you are now. If I had known…"

"That's why you did it," I said, standing up and walking away from him. "He tried to ensure his future in more ways than one!"

"Daniel," Vlad replied, his voice breaking. "I'm sorry."

"You're sorry," I asked, the tears drying away as my anger built. "You took his word over mine! I asked you not to do that! What does that tell me about us?"

"I didn't do it," Vlad declared. "It was an alternate timeline!"

"But it is so close to this one," I retorted. "If this timeline had followed that one, it would repeat itself. It didn't matter if I fought it or not. I would have lost!"

"You seemed fine to me," Vlad retorted.

"He didn't tell you anything of what had happened in the last ten years," I shot back at him. "I met your future self! You ask him if he would redo things if he could. He tried to kill me!"

"What," Vlad asked, coming to his feet now. He wasn't angry, he was hurt. "I don't believe you."

"Oh, believe it," I retorted. "He had a chance to make things right and all he had to do was kill me. He was willing to sacrifice me and our child!"

"Why would he do that," Vlad asked, unable to view the two as one.

"Because he already lost us," I replied, my voice softer now. "Dan, my alternate future self, was a combination of your ghost half and mine. The only thing left was our human shells. And I wasn't around anymore."

"Where were you," Vlad asked, his eyes wide.

"Dead," I replied. "The first person he killed was his human shell. That part did tear your alternate future-self up. He had to choose between saving himself or both of us dying." My voice dropped, "He chose wrong in his opinion."

"Daniel," Vlad said softly, "I can't account for that timeline but I know that in this timeline, there is only one I hold higher than you." He gently laid his hands on my stomach, "and I believe I can say that you feel the same way."

I looked up in his eyes, "I do. I guess that's why I'm so tore up. It wasn't your fault—at all. You were in no way involved with my family's deaths. However, a piece of me holds you at blame for her death even though I shouldn't. I'm not sure if I can get over that."

Vlad forced his blue eyes to hold mine, "I understand but I hope that you can. I love you… more than I could ever express. I'm not sure if I can let you go."

I lifted my arms over his neck, pulling him in for a kiss. After I broke it, I looked in his eyes, "Just give me some time. I need some time to sort through some things. Don't come looking for me. I'll let you know what I decide."

Vlad's eyes searched mine, the pain evident in his blue orbs. I pulled away from him, allowing the rings to wash over my body. I phased through the roof, flying away. I wasn't going to Fentonworks. I don't really belong there anymore. I just flew northeast, leaving Washington County and flying towards the Great Lake Region.

O_O

The weather was beautiful around Amity Park but about two hundred miles north, a terrible snowstorm was occurring off the south shore of Lake Michigan. I slowed my procession north and slowed my speed down, allowing myself to take in the area. I was still going about 300 miles per hour. Before, though, I was going right on 600 mph. It had only been a few minutes since I left the house so I wasn't too far away. Distances to me are perceived much differently than before. Most teenagers wouldn't wonder a few miles from home. I'm more than two hundred miles from home.

Lake Michigan was to my northwest and I was on the border of Lake Erie. I slowed down tremendously, the storms blowing off both lakes incredibly powerful. Visibility would be considerably low for humans and even my visibility became hindered. The city lights of Toledo burned brightly in the winter-like night sky just west of here as the city lights of Detroit barely touched the horizon in the north. I touched down on the ground, the wind wiping at my hair furiously.

It was quite amazing. If I couldn't see the city lights of the two large metropolitans, I would never guess I was anywhere near civilization. Lake Erie continued to stretch to the east and to the north into Canada while Ohio stretched to the south. I was extremely close to the place where my parents and Vlad grew up, a little town named Willard just to the south-west from here. The snow and ice pounded against my hazmat suit and my face but I didn't feel it.

A thick wooded area expanded in the place I found myself. I stood on the shore of Lake Erie but deeper south, a vast forest enveloped the land. I wondered into the cover of the heavy over brush. The forces of nature stayed outside while I ventured in the wood.

The wood didn't expand very far. Once I entered back into the storm, more city lights met me. These, however, were closer but they paled in comparison to the ones on the horizon. Cleveland should be in the northeast.

I turned back around, not seeking city lights. I wanted a place where I could think. That's why I ventured this far from home after all. I wanted to get away from the pressures of home.

Plus, inside the thickets, I was granted shelter from the storm.

Thinking turned out to be more like hiding from my troubles. I pushed the fears and anxieties as far from my mind as I possibly could as I hovered above the ground. The wind howled outside the small forest and I knew I should get home soon however I wanted to avoid that place. Amity Park was nothing but worries and troubles. Here, it was just my little one and me. Lilly was lying still and sleeping peacefully. When I checked on her with my mind, images of her dreams came to me. It was so tranquil to watch my daughter's dreams.

However, it was also disturbing. Her dreams were detailed; images of her future. She had the Simmons's family power of prophetic dreams and I would give anything to take that power from her. Those dreams do nothing but cause problems, especially for someone trying to fit into the world. I never wanted my children burdened with my abilities but I knew that was unavoidable. I had seen Sammy, Pammy and DJ's powers. I'm not sure if those three will exist now but I know Lilly is here and she has the one power I was once grateful that none of my children had inherited.

My cell phone rang, bringing me from my thoughts. I pulled the small device from my pocket to see Sam's contact information on my display. Crap! What time is it?

"Hello," I said, a bit afraid of the outburst.

"Are you okay," Sam asked, her voice worried. "Where are you?"

"Ohio," I answered without thinking.

Luckily for me, her response was, "What?"

"Oh, I don't know," I changed my response. Thank goodness I'm not in Michigan or some other place. Ohio is the perfect place to pull my fat out of the fire.

"Oh," Sam replied. "Are we going on patrol or not?"

"Are you guys at the Nasty Burger," I asked her.

"We're here," Sam replied. "If you don't feel like…"

"No," I cut her off. "Give me ten minutes. I'll be there."

"Ten minutes," Sam asked, her voice rising. "Where are you, the west coast? Another continent?"

"No," I laughed out. "I'm still in North America and I'm still in the mid-west."

"Okay," Sam smacked her lips together. "I'll see you in ten minutes!"

O_O

When I made it out of the squall, it was relatively easy to get back on track. I came through Indiana but I came back through Michigan. The storm was pretty bad. I'll be happy when Spring unofficially starts and we can put this winter behind us. I'll have to work on Sam, though, to get her to wear a coat next year.

I landed just outside the Nasty Burger in the mall (must I explain why it isn't the regular NB). I transformed back into my human form and walked inside. The Nasty Burger was packed, an empty table not in sight. It wasn't particularly more crowded than normal but the mall's Nasty Burger was smaller than the original one. The one in the mall just wasn't equipped to deal with the traffic of the independent restaurant.

"Hey, guys," I said, after a challenging search for Sam and Tucker's location.

"You're late," Sam said with a chuckle. "It's been twelve minutes."

Well, if you saw that storm I had to fly through, you'd understand. It's not like they have road signs in the sky. You have to have an excellent sense of direction and even that wasn't enough to combat the storm. "Sorry, I wasn't exactly in a hurry."

"Are you ready to go," Tucker asked, grabbing his bag but not moving to slip it over his back.

"If you guys are," I replied. Tucker slipped his backpack over his shoulder and Sam grabbed her spider pack. When we were outside, I turned towards them, ceasing the march: "Let me see them."

They grunted, pulling out the ghost weapons. I didn't really need to see them but I'm glad they have them. After they tucked away the ghost weapons, they slightly exposed their pistols. I nodded content.

"I can't believe you're going through with that order," Sam grunted.

"It'll be required from now on," I replied, my voice low. "You won't be exposed again!"

"We have never been exposed," Tucker rolled his eyes. "You're always there."

"It didn't matter Saturday," I said, my voice hard.

"Is that what this is about," Sam asked.

"What else would it be about," I declared. "I know what happened now. I know what changed the course of that world! I won't allow you guys to be vulnerable again. I'm too selfish to push you away so my only choice is to better equip you."

"Then remove the damn passwords and let us turn half ghost," Tucker retorted. "Saturday wouldn't even be an issue if we were half ghosts."

"You may be tempted to believe that, but it would have followed the same path," I replied, beginning to walk the mapped out routes of our patrol. "Do you think I had it easy beating Dan?"

"Duh," Tucker retorted. "That's what you said."

Oh. "Well, maybe I was over exaggerating a bit," I covered my slip up. "It wasn't exactly easy peasy!"

"Still," Sam cut in, "It would have made a difference. I'm certain of it."

"Maybe you guys would have died quicker," I said, my voice low. The streets weren't filled with screams yet and my mind was starting to process that. "Is it just me or does something appear out of place?"

"Oh, something's not right," Tucker remarked. His eyes started to scan the horizon. "Where are the ghosts?"

This is exactly the kind of activity when Invincible is around. Is he coming back to finish the job? If it is him, this could get messy with Sam and Tucker here. I don't know how he would deal with a human. That's why I haven't exposed my human form to him yet. Would it be too easy for him if he knew my true DNA markup?

"Okay, this is truly strange," Sam remarked. "Later in the night, I may buy it. But this is early in the evening and there's not a single scream. That kind of activity has me spooked!"

Lilly began to stir, waking up for the first time since I left for Ohio. _Mommy_, she asked me, her voice distorted with fear and pain. She just went through this last night.

I feel it, baby, I replied as I triggered the rings. When it came to detecting Invincible, his Ectoranium surpassed my ghost sense by a landslide.

"Did you get a ghost sense," Tucker asked me, worried.

"No," I said, my eyes scanning the sky. "This is something much more reliable when it comes to this ghost. You guys need to get out of here!"

"Damn it all if you aren't dead," a voice broadcast from above me. My ghost sense went off but it was weak. The Ectoranium diminishes my powers.

"How the hell," Sam said, looking up. "How did he get so close? Who is he?"

"Who are they, Phantom," Invincible smirked at me as he came closer. I backed away, trying to hold it in but it was difficult. They removed Ectoranium from my system too little ago. My body was reacting more violently this time. If he touched me, it would hurt ten times more.

"Guys, go," I cried, getting into a fighting position. This just may be my last stand.

"They can't leave now," Invincible chuckled. "The party hasn't even begun." He paused for a moment but I glanced at Sam and Tucker. They remained unmoved. "Now," he replied, tipping his finger to his chin, "What I can't figure out is how you're still alive… for lack of a better term. What, fifteen hundred ghosts wasn't enough last night?"

"Fifteen hundred," I smirked. "I estimated a thousand."

"What," Tucker roared, his eyes wide but his demeanor furious.

"What's your name, boy," Invincible asked, floating away from me. My insides began to feel better but I was a far cry from comfortable.

"Tucker," he remarked. "Who are you?"

"Invincible," he introduced himself. "See, Phantom here has earned a reputation for being undefeatable. I've seen that side of him. I've battled him four times and he's still floating here. That is more times than I've fought anyone else."

"Danny isn't your typical ghost," Tucker said, crossing his arms across his chest. "And we're not your typical team!"

"I can see that," Invincible smirked.

"Leave them alone," I barked, beginning to collect the strength I needed to face him. Now, if I could only do the same thing for my physical preparedness.

"Not all ghosts hang out with a couple humans," Invincible replied. "So, sweetheart, what's your name?"

"I'm not your sweetheart," Sam retorted, "and it's Sam!"

"Oh, Samantha. What a beautiful name—surely befitting. Why must you shorten it," Invincible asked her.

"Why do you call yourself Invincible," Sam smirked. "Obviously, you're not."

"Oh, I'm invincible," he cocked a grin. "It's just that Phantom here appears to be equally so. I can't destroy him alone. Apparently, I can't destroy him with allies either." He turned back to me. "Fifteen hundred ghosts! Truly, a monument to your greatness!"

"Are we going to talk or are we going to fight," I asked, forcing back the dread in my stomach. I couldn't tell you if the dread was mine, Lilly's or both of ours.

"Oh, we're just going to talk," he remarked. "I went up against you after fifteen hundred ghosts were supposed to weaken you. Here you are! Obviously, your undoing will have to be more carefully calculated. I just wanted to see you for myself."

"I know you're out early tonight," I remarked.

"Yeah," he nodded his head, "but it's worth it. I have been blessed with a truly remarkable sight. A ghost on borrowed time. A ghost who has been blessed by God's greatness."

"Well, if you're done chatting, I'd like to get back to my normal routine. You've scared all the other ghosts away," I replied, keeping my voice even.

"Very well," Invincible replied, his voice going high. "I don't know when, but I'll see you again, Phantom. Until then, God bless."

Invincible lifted into the air and flew away. As soon as he was far enough away, I collapsed to my knees, wrapping my arms around my stomach. I exhaled loudly though the air did not circulate.

"Danny," Sam and Tucker asked, panicked. "What's wrong?"

"I thought you guys were gonna have to watch me fight him," I remarked, triggering my rings. As soon as it was possible, I took a deep breath in.

"What was he talking about with the fifteen hundred ghosts," Sam asked me, "and don't give me that crap about it not being important!"

I sighed, "Last night, after I dropped Tucker off. I'm always attacked after I drop you two off, that's nothing unusual but the ghosts were much higher in volume. Every time I defeated one or sucked one into a thermos, another three would take its place. It was just like what we learned in history. The Persians. They seemed to be non-relenting. Around two, all the ghosts vanished and revealed Invincible. He's assembled them to weaken me so he could destroy me. He was surprised it didn't work," I answered. "Honestly, so was I," I replied, my voice soft.

"Oh, my God," Sam replied, her eyes welling up. "You didn't forget! You were just too exhausted to call last night."

"Yeah," I replied, casting my eyes down. "I didn't want to worry you. That ghost is the worst ghost that isn't asleep or on this side of the time stream."

"Even worse than Plasmius," Tucker asked, worried.

"I don't know if I'd classify him worse but I'll tell you this much, if Vlad went up against him," I swallowed the lump in my throat, "he probably wouldn't make it."

"You should have told us," Sam declared. "Did he hurt you last night?"

"Yeah," I replied. "But I took care of it."

"How," Sam cried, her eyes horrified.

"There's something that I need to tell you guys," I declared.

"What now," Tucker asked, his voice disbelieving.

"The Clinic in Elemerton," I addressed, "they understand more about me than most people. They're the ones who took care of me this morning. They were the ones who took care of me with the first attack; the scars."

"So you're okay," Sam replied, surprising me. I figured she'd question me about how much the clinic knew.

"Yeah," I replied. "A little weak from the close encounter but I'm recharging."

"That's all that matters to me," Sam replied. She wrapped her arms around me, leaning into me. I laid my arms around her, holding her tight. I still felt like I was doing something wrong but the need to have her in my arms exceeded the feeling.

Sam pulled away, the hug not lasting nearly long enough. We resumed our patrol, wondering what would meet us. Sure enough, within ten minutes, the screams kicked up. Invincible was gone and things were back to normal.

O_O

"What are you looking at," Mom asked me, coming to sit beside me at the workstation in the back of the lab. I had a map of Ohio out, examining the shores of Lake Erie closely.

"I'm trying to find a place in Ohio," I replied. My finger touched Willard to the south. "That's where you three grew up," I slid my finger north to stop at Cleveland. "and that's too far east." My left index and middle fingers touched Detroit and Toledo. "This is too far west. It's on the south shores of Lake Erie, though."

"It's probably Sandusky," Mom replied off the top of her head. "In Erie County."

I traced my right hand west from Cleveland and I came across the town. "You're probably right," I replied. It makes sense. "It's a pretty big town, right?"

"One of the top ten," Mom replied. "It's the home of Cedar Point."

"Thanks," I replied. I continued to study the area I would probably call home if Grandma and Grandpa Simmons hadn't died when Mom was seventeen. When they died, nothing kept her in that town. Aunt Alicia and she never really got along to begin with but Aunt Alicia took out of Willard before Grandma and Grandpa died anyway. Aunt Alicia came back to Willard so Mom could stay out of child services for the remainder of the six months until her eighteenth birthday. That's why they somewhat get along.

"What's got you thinking about Ohio," Mom asked me, peering over my shoulder.

"I've been thinking a lot about the Chaos Theory," I replied. I wasn't very familiar with it and neither was my family but after watching Jurassic Park, I investigated the theory. It has a lot to do with what happened over the weekend. In fact, it may be the sole element responsible in the accident if I'm correct.

"Did you watch Jurassic Park recently," Mom asked me, cracking a smile. "Most parents talked about how the movie scared their children. Mine were intrigued."

"You know me," I replied. "There's not much that scares me."

"That's the truth," Mom replied. "I've seen you walk into dark rooms as a child but run from a tomato."

"With good reason," I laughed. "If I look at one, I break out!"

"It wouldn't surprise me," Mom replied, wrapping her arm around my neck. I managed to maneuver her to rest on top of my clothing so my heat wouldn't alarm her. "Is something wrong," asked Mom. I guess I wasn't as subtle as I thought.

"No," I replied. "I'm just a little restless. Today's been intense."

"Did you kids have fun role playing," Mom asked.

"Yeah," I smiled. "I don't think it was a fair fight. Sam shot Tucker out when he wasn't paying attention to her," I laughed.

"Did you win," Mom asked me, cocking an eyebrow.

"Barely," I replied. "I lost my arm when Tucker shot me. He aimed to take me out because Sam and I were ignoring him but I caught the movement. Sam took out my kneecap and thus sent debilitating pain through my body. I had to fight her and deal with the injuries.

"Sam took a blast that affected around thirty percent of her suit when she was ignoring me. When I lost my arm, Sam and Tucker went into heated combat and left me standing alone. Tucker kept his eyes on me every so often but Sam was less inclined to observe me. She either saw the attack a moment too late or didn't see it at all, because the only thing that messed up my shot was the rocking of my cover."

"Congratulations," Mom smiled at me. "I knew you could do it."

"It was intense," I repeated again. "We all three worked really hard. Like I said, I don't think it was a fair fight because Tucker wasn't keeping his eyes open. If he hadn't become complacent, I'm certain that scrimmage would have lasted for hours longer than it did. It lasted three hours as it was."

"Well, I'm certain you would have won either way," Mom replied, kissing my head. She took a seat, laying her hands in her lap. Ut oh, I recognize that look. "Can we talk about this morning?"

"I guess," I replied, my voice low. I don't really want to. I hate lying to you.

"Where were you until three this morning," Mom asked me, her eyes soft. "That's twice you've stayed out at all hours of the night and both times, you've blown me off. I want to know where you have been going."

"I have certain responsibilities," I replied. "These responsibilities take up a lot of my time and force me to slack in other areas. I didn't ask for this responsibility but I won't run from it either. I just have to deal with what I'm dealt. I'm trying to improve in the areas where I've slacked, but there are just not enough hours in the day."

"Maybe if you shared that burden, you would have more time for your studies and your chores," Mom suggested.

"I can't do that," I replied, looking down. "Sam and Tucker want me to do that. A part of me wants to do that but I know I'm the only one who can do this. I just have to learn to juggle my responsibilities better." I don't believe that can be done, though. I'm being pulled in too many directions. Maybe it's time to start considering what I want from my life.

"If you don't get some help, you're going to completely shut down, honey," Mom replied. "I remember a time when I was being pulled into a thousand directions. It was when we were making the proto-portal. I was devoted to just one thing, but that one thing is a very broad subject. I was a scientist, but at the same time I was a chemists, a physicist, a biologist, a mathematician, a pharmacist, and a million other 'icists'." Mom cracked a smile, "But in that time, I lost the one thing I cherished above all else. I wasn't a friend anymore."

Mom's smile vanished and her eyes became dull, "Not to sound like Jazz, but I believe that's how your father can deny anything before college. After Vlad's accident, it was as if we were getting to know each other and not that we had been friends since Kindergarten. It was wrong. I should have never allowed myself to be pulled in so many directions that I lost the only thing that mattered to me at the time. Is that what is happening to you? Are you becoming too many things to too many people and you're losing who you used to be?"

I felt like she saw right through me. That's exactly what is happening. I don't have as many pulls as Mom had when it came to jobs but I have that many pulls or more when it comes to titles. I've also lost sight of who I am. If you had told me just a month ago that I would have been involved with Vlad romantically or preparing to have a baby, I would probably have ecto-blasted you but they're both true. I'm not as close with Sam and Tucker as I used to be. There was a time that I didn't keep a thing from them. Now, there are lies on a list as long as my arm.

"Sweetheart," Mom asked me, her eyes worried.

"How did you deal with it," I asked, my voice breaking. I didn't expect for my voice to break.

"I decided what was important to me and I selected what needed to be done and I threw away the rest. It's not easy, Danny, but you're only human, sweetie. There are limitations that are clearly marked and we try to push past them every day. If we go past them too many times, our bodies start to shut down," Mom replied, her eyes turning kind.

"But everything is so important," I replied, searching her eyes. "I can't just throw something away. I've already dealt away with what wasn't important."

"Tell me your list of responsibilities," Mom replied, resting against the workstation and putting her entire focus on me.

"There are so many of them," I sighed. "So many that I can't tell you about."

"Why not," Mom replied, her expression remaining. She expected that. There's only so many times your child can lock you out of his life and you be surprised about it.

"I'm afraid," I replied, turning my head. "There's two huge secrets that I would guard with all but my life. I know if push came to shove, I'd probably tell you guys but… I've had nightmares about it. Regular nightmares," I added as a side note.

"What's regular about a nightmare," Mom replied.

I chuckled, "Sorry. I say that to put Sam and Tucker's fears at ease when it's something that bad. It's nothing you need to know about."

"What are you afraid of," Mom asked me, my hand sliding in hers. I fought the urge to rip it away, desiring her comfort more.

"This," I said, my voice breaking again. "Losing it, that is. I've all but pushed it away as it is, but I know you still love me. I don't know what I'll do when I lose that love."

"Oh, Danny," Mom cried, her own voice breaking. She pulled me into a hug and I let a few tears slide out of my eyes. "You could never lose my love! You will always be my baby," Mom declared.

"No," I said, my throat becoming lodged. "I mean, how could you possibly forgive me for this? How could you ever look at me the same again? Things will never be the same and while you deserve to know the truth, I'm too selfish to give up this luxury."

"You listen to me," Mom declared, pulling me out to look at her. I took in her red, puffy eyes, filled with tears. "You are the most important thing to me. When you have a child of your own, and the woman you love lays that child in your hands, you'll know what I'm talking about. Only in part, though, because nothing can compare to a mother's love."

"I already understand," I replied. "So much of me says that this would be all right but I can't ignore facts," I declared. "I've seen it too many times. I've heard it too many times. Things would never be the same. If-If I had told you in the beginning or at least before that day, things might be differently… but, it's too late. I can't go back."

Mom's hands cupped my face, her eyes still displaying the signs of crying but also holding the look of a great mystery. "I don't understand," Mom replied. "What has changed?"

"Everything," I replied. I looked at my watch and it was after eleven. "Well, I need to be going. I'm late."

"Late," Mom asked, her voice barely above a whisper. I knew she had too many things on her mind to pay attention to just one thing. I stood up, placing a kiss on her cheek.

"I'll see you in the morning," I replied, heading up the stairs. I needed to change in my pajamas. I've learned that dressing before the late shift erases so many troubles.

O_O

When the sun came up, I quietly walked down the stairs. I was surprised to see the light in the kitchen on so I quietly made my way there. Mom sat at the table with a writing tablet. A cup of coffee sat at a distance from the paper and Mom was tapping the pen's end against the paper. I have a bad feeling about this. There isn't a person in this world more smarter than Mom. If she's doing the research into what I think she is, I may be in more trouble than I'm worth.

"Mom," I asked, walking over to the pot. "What are you doing up?"

"What are you," Mom asked me, her surprise disappearing. "Surely you can't forget that it's still Spring Break."

I had this planned out. "I was going to leave you a note. I'm heading over to Sam's house with Tucker. We're watching movies this morning."

"You kids are truly strange," Mom smiled, the words a compliment not a belittlement as it may appear. We strove to be different… especially Sam. No one drove harder to be different than Sam. "I couldn't sleep last night. That coffee's a bit old."

"I'll make some fresh," I offered, taking the decanter out of the holder. I poured the thick black liquid down the drain. I could tell it was old but it wasn't very old. In this house, coffee barely lasts two hours so four hours, the age I estimate, is old.

"Thanks," Mom replied, beginning to tap her pen again. As I filled the water in the decanter to wash it out, I glanced at her pad of paper. She had the months of the year written on it from last January, more than a year ago. Scribbling didn't appear below it until October. That's when my attitude did a one-eighty.

I emptied the water and began to fill the decanter up again. As the water filled the jug, I glanced down at the paper again. Her pen tapped around the middle of the year, July to September. She knew it started during that period. Would she figure out it was right in the middle?

I cut the water off and started to prepare the coffee. Once it was done, I took a seat as the coffee began to perk. I would be a little later leaving than planned but it would be okay.

"I guess you wouldn't tell me when this all began, would you," Mom asked me, continuing to tap the pen. The pen was like the war drums of the past; Mom declaring war on whatever was 'hurting' her baby. Momma bear was so close to coming out of hibernation.

O_O

The storm over the Great Lake region had ceased, dropping about a foot or two of fresh snow on the ground. Finding the city I suspected was on the outskirts of the forest was more challenging than I anticipated. I flew too far north, landing on the shores of Lake Huron. I was in a place called Sarnia—on the Canadian border on Canada's side of it. Lake Erie was about fifty miles to the south from where I was. The next time I landed, I was on American soil. Imagine the international incident that could arise from that accident.

However, I wasn't in Sandusky. I was on the east side of Cleveland but at least I was on the right side of the border. I turned invisible as I flew over the Cleveland skyline. Clear skies wouldn't expose my glow but how would I explain how I could fly. It's best to be safe than sorry—and dissected.

Finally, I touched down on the US route six that ran to the town. No cars were currently on the road so it was safe to do so. I wasn't far outside of town. I just wanted to see the town my parents and Vlad most likely visited in their youth. After all, it is the closest metropolitan to them.

After I was done exploring, I flew towards the shores of Lake Erie. The forest proved difficult for me to locate and I was beginning to grow worrisome that I had the wrong place. However, on a second pass, the small thicket revealed itself to me. The sounds of vehicles and boats in the canal reached my ears. This place was so close to civilization yet it seemed so isolated. I sat down on the snow, hearing it crack under my light weight. I barely weighted eighty-eight pounds but I'm currently a ghost. Ghosts have weight but I can never gage mine in ghost form. The weight of my human form and the weight of my ghost form cancel each other out. The same for many of my ghostly vitals are true. We can actually gage a ghost's frigid temperature but mine remains a mystery.

I changed back into a human so I wouldn't have to fight to maintain contact with the Earth. As I became a solid and my weight increased, the snow became more compact. I listened to the sounds that surrounded me and enjoyed the silence. This town didn't scream. This town didn't have bad thoughts as they displayed gratitude. That's what kills me the most. The people will act all grateful and happy, but inside their cussing me. The A-List defends me and condemns anyone that condemns me. I'd rather them be open about it.

Before I decided to go home (it was after nine), I decided to do something on a whim. I pulled the small beacon from my pocket and found a tree. I hoped they would never log this place because if they ever find this, it is bound to bring up some questions. I phased my hand through the tree, ripping out a small area. I phased the beacon into the tree, resting it comfortably in the hollowed spot. The tree was small so I wasn't damaging an old tree. Sam would kill me if I did that and she found out.

I checked my cell phone and assured the GPS was working. When I was certain, I took to the air. Hopefully, I can find Willard without incident.

Do you know how difficult it is to find a small town from the sky? I knew I missed it when I passed over a large town. Either I was over Columbus or I had flown into Kentucky. Either way, Willard is higher north! It helped if I flew slow and low but not by much. It still didn't get me to the place I wanted to go. It's not like I know a lot about this region. My parents may have grown up here but I don't know the terrain. The only thing I had to go on was that it was located in Huron County. Finally, I decided to do something about being lost.

I landed in a vacant area, some small town that a highway ran through. I found the only convenience store that I could find and bought a map. It wouldn't help me alone. I still needed to know where I was.

"Hey," I asked the clerk after I paid for the map. "Could you tell me where we are?"

"Nankin," she replied. "It should be listed on the map. If not, we're in the top portion of Ashland County."

"Ashland," I said, thinking back to my mom's stories. "Is that near Huron County?"

"You're practically on top of it," she replied. "Where are you heading?"

"Willard," I asked. "I don't know if you…"

"You're close, kid," she replied. "You should be able to find it on the map. You don't follow 58 or 302 there, I know, but it's practically a straight shot there."

"Great," I replied. I opened the map, looking for the town she mentioned. Nankin. Finally, I found it and about maybe ten miles from here was Willard. What do you know, maybe I'm not such a terrible navigator after all.

The town was just as I imagined it though I'd imagine it was vastly different than the place Mom and Dad called home. The town was still doing well; it was a bristling small town. I stopped into the local dinner for a bite to eat. I wanted some apple juice (not me, really). I sat down at a booth but I kept getting stares. The people in the dinner kept glancing at me and they were whispering to their company.

They weren't being clear in their observations but I think I know what's going on. I believe the people here know my dad because they keep comparing me to someone. Finally, a tall man about the age of my parents walked over to me.

"I'm sorry, young man, I don't mean to impose, but may I ask you a question," he asked me.

"Sure," I replied. "Have a seat if you want," I invited.

"You're not from around here, I know that, but where are you from," he asked me, taking the seat. He nodded his appreciation.

I smirked, "Amity Park, Illinois. My parents grew up here. I was in the area and I wanted to see the place for myself."

"I knew it," he replied. "You're Jack Fenton's son, aren't you."

"Yeah," I smiled. "Danny Fenton's the name."

"Charley Fenton," he greeted me. "Your cousin."

My eyes bugged out. Of course. Now I see it. The tall legs, the built jaw, the jet black hair. That's all Fenton qualities. "This is amazing," I replied. "I never imagined meeting family."

"My Uncle… oh, my," he replied. "Your grandfather's in town. I bet he'd love to meet you!"

"Grandpa is here," I asked, my surprise evident. He came up here in a snowstorm.

"Yeah," Charley chuckled, "the old timer has been gripping since he got off the plane in Sandusky. Come on, I'll take you to the farm."

I drank my apple juice down and followed him out of the dinner. He was incredibly nervous about me getting in his vehicle, wondering if I would trust him. I brushed it aside. If anyone would regret anything, it would be he.

The farm was enormous, small farmhouses littering the property. The snow had been pushed away, leaving most of the areas clear for Grandpa, I'm sure. We walked in and an older woman nearly had a duck calf when Charley brought in a stranger.

However, before Charley could clear things up, Grandpa beat him to it, "Danny!"

"Grandpa," I greeted, hugging him tightly. "I am so sorry I never got your number. I've been meaning to ask Vlad but I didn't know if it'd be okay with you."

"Are you kidding me," Grandpa declared. "I missed my only grandson."

"You've got to be kidding me," the woman said in astonishment. "This is Jack's boy?"

"That's him," he replied. "And Maddie's too."

"Maddie Simmons," Charley declared. "Holy shoot, I never imagined that couple."

"Please," the woman replied. "Those two were destined to be together the minute they met. It was written in stone." She walked over to me. "I'm your great-aunt Carrie. It's nice to meet you."

"Are you Grandpa's sister," I asked, trying to figure this out. "No. Grandpa has brothers. You're one of their wives. Ralph and Riley," I recalled. "Oh! I can't remember. One had three kids and one had four. Tommy was the only boy for one of them."

"That's Riley," she replied, her eyes shining as she nodded her head. "That's good. I'm married to Ralph."

"That's the middle child," I recalled. "Grandpa was the oldest, and then Ralph and Riley was the baby. You have three kids, one girl and two boys."

"Correct," she replied, her smile growing. "For someone who has never met us, he sure knows a lot about us."

"Mom used to tell me stories all the time," I smiled. "She's really homesick. She's threatened to drag Dad back here kicking and screaming."

"I'd love to see Jacky again," Charley chuckled. "How's the old boy been lately?"

"He's been doing good," I replied. "Mom and Dad are the top minds of ghost hunting and Mom is the superintendent of the region."

"Have you guys been overrun by Guys in White down there," a young woman remarked.

"More than you could ever imagine," I groaned. "They have three plants in our area alone. They have six plants in west-central Illinois and ten in the entire state."

"Man," Charley replied. "This is my sister Marissa. She's the director of this district."

"Marissa Monroe," I replied. "I've talked to you before!"

"You have," she asked, knitting her brows together. "I'm sure I would remember the name Fenton."

"Well, I don't go by that name in business. I'm Radar," I replied.

"Holy cow," she declared. "Of course! Talked to is an understatement. You run this entire country when it comes to ghost hunting."

I put my hand behind my neck, "Yeah, well. It pays the bills!"

They chuckled as Grandpa led me over to the couch. We exchanged numbers and he done what they always do when they see a one-eight-hundred number. I figured it'd be easier on him with it being toll free.

When it was noon, I knew I had to go. Sam and Tucker would start worrying if they haven't started already. I wanted to spend some time with them and I needed to monitor Mom's investigation. If she started getting too suspicious, she might begin checking out my cover stories. I hugged Grandpa, "I really should be going. I hate to leave but you know."

"Life moves on," Grandpa remarked. "Well, if you're ever in Daytona Beach, look me up. And you'd better call me!"

"I will," I replied. "It was so good to see you again."

"Same here," he replied. "A surprise but a happy one, I assure you."

"Take care of yourself," I replied.

"Of course," he smirked. I stood up and they followed me outside. Great. Why couldn't we say goodbye at that?

"Is someone picking you up," Carrie asked me. "Who brought him, Charley?"

Charley paled. "I didn't even think…"

"I'm here on my own," I replied. "I'll go back to town to go home."

"You can't walk all the way to town from here," Carrie cried. Oh, why?!

"Heck no," Grandpa declared. "You'll freeze!"

"I don't want to be a burden," I replied. "Believe me, I can handle the cold."

"It's two miles to the center of town," Grandpa declared. "Boy, I used to walk these streets to school. It's up hill both ways!"

"But I'm only going one way," I joked, earning some laughter. But I couldn't talk them out of it. All the way to town, I prayed they wouldn't want to see my ride. I could pay for the ticket, no sweat, but I'll kick myself if I have to ride a bus all the way back to Illinios! Next time, I'm bringing the Specter Speeder when I plan on going to Willard!

I got an idea when they walked me into the bus station. Charley said there was an airport in Sandusky so if I get a bus ride to the city, I can fake it. They'll be seeing me off and I can take to the air after the hour bus ride. It's not ideal but it's better than being caught that I flew of my own will here. I boarded the bus and waved goodbye, settling in for the long ride to Sandusky. This would for sure be the longest part of my trip home. I am definitely bringing the Specter Speeder if I go back to Willard!

I felt like a dog who has been on a leash his entire life. As soon as that bus stopped in Sandusky, I ran off that bus so fast I probably sent people spinning. I can't take the slow life of normal people now that I am half ghost. Even a trip to town seems like an eternity when Sam and Tucker aren't with me. Of course, my dad drives a wee bit faster than the bus driver does. Dad could probably be to Toledo before this bus driver could be to Sandusky.

As soon as I was out of sight, I took to the air and flew home. I was home before five minutes was up. That storm really did slow me down. Note to self, double check the forecast before coming here.

**AN: Drop me a line. Any feedback is welcomed. The story companion to Bitter UNIONS will be up today. If my description is vague or incomplete, let me know. To my readers out there who have read Bitter UNIONS, please read the companion and make sure I covered everything. As I said last update, it's confusing when you've been working on something as long as I have. I don't want to neglect my younger readers or those who can't stomach the violence. Please be considerate of your fellow readers. This is not for my benefit!**


	5. Chapter 5

**Disclaimer: I don't own Danny Phantom, Masters of All Time, or Digimon.**

**Warning: This story contains reference to rape, sexual content, male sex and pedophilia. If any of this disturbs you, please do not read.**

**Chapter Five: The Delicate Balance**

I walked by Sam's house but she wasn't there. I didn't stop in, I just looked for her unique signature. The next best bet would be Tucker's so I headed for the Foley house. Inside was both Sam and Tucker's unique signatures. I decided to go in through the front door.

"Hey, Danny," Mom Number Two greeted me as I began up the stairs. "I've been waiting for you. Sam's been here since last night."

"Okay," I replied. "Thanks."

"You're welcome," she replied. I walked up the stairs, pushing open Tucker's door. Tucker was at his computer desk but he was facing Sam.

"I told you he was on his way here," Tucker replied. Sam sat on another chair facing the back of it, hugging her chest to it and resting her head on the top.

"Danny," Sam replied. "Why on Earth were you in Ohio?"

"You tracked my phone," I asked, little shock on my face. It wasn't that he did it or that he could that was surprising. It was more of a statement anyway.

"Well, yeah," Tucker replied, his voice even. "I was worried that Invincible guy got you. When you didn't show up, we got worried."

"Did we have plans," I asked, trying to remember if I told them I'd meet them for anything.

"No," Sam replied. "But you couldn't get the ghost sense in Ohio!"

"Ghost sense," I cried. "Oh, no. A ghost attacked."

"Don't worry," Tucker replied, his voice still even. "We dealt with it."

"Who was it," I asked, wondering if it was an ordinary one or if it was a new ghost (or at least one they didn't know.)

"It was a bunch of rabid rabbits," Tucker replied, laughing. "Talk about coincidental."

"Dang it," I declared. "Those stupid rabbits didn't cease to exist or at least go back to normal bunnies when the book ended?"

"Are you still on that kick," Sam asked me, chuckling. "No one can say you are lacking tenacity."

"It's the truth," I defended, but sighed. I knew the Ghost Writer's magic was still working in some part. Besides, he didn't really force them to rhyme. They rhymed too, infected by the power, but mostly I rhymed their sayings with my thoughts. I was the one hit with the beam so I was the one directly impacted by the spell. "Forget it."

"Already done," Tucker laughed. "So, what were you doing in Ohio?"

"Exploring," I said. "With this whole thing, I've been thinking a lot about the Chaos Theory. I've been wondering what it'd be like if my grandparents lived."

"It'd probably be bad," Sam replied. "You would have never met us and I'd be a fairy princess." Sam shivered.

"I know," I smirked. "And I wouldn't trade my life in Amity for anything but… I just wonder sometimes. Something as simple as Clockwork being hired by those guys, the Observants, altered the course of history so drastically. I mean, my dreams never picked up any of that timeline."

"That's probably because your dreams saw you changing the timeline," Sam replied quickly, "Who are the Observants?"

"Who they are, I have no idea," I replied. "But they were the ones who wanted me dead to protect the future."

"Well, that's ridiculous," replied Tucker. "This world wouldn't even have a future if it weren't for you!"

"Well, you can't blame them. No matter how many times I've protected this town, my future was saturated in blood and destruction."

"I think there's more to it," Sam replied. She removed her arms from the chair and pushed herself to a standing position: "We're going to the Ghost Zone."

"What for," I asked, turning in her direction. Wheels rolled across the floor as Tucker came to a standing position as well.

"A fact finding mission," Sam replied as Tucker declared, "For research!"

O_O

We took the Specter Speeder to the Ghost Zone, Sam's turn to drive. I didn't know where she was going but by Tucker's actions, I had a guess. He was on his PDA, doing what I could only imagine was preparing for Skulker. Usually when we visit Skulker for information, Tucker gains control over his mainframe before we enter his haunt so if things go bad, all Tuck has to do is push a button.

"Hello, Skulker," Sam greeted, her attitude all business. Her walk was even reminiscent to a sergeant. Yeah, there was no doubt about who ran this team. Sam was the boss and I was just her puppet.

"What do you whelps want," Skulker said, spiteful. "Didn't you humiliate me enough Sunday?"

"We need some information," Sam began, "if you give it to us peacefully, we'll leave you be when we've got what we came for. If not…"

"You'll truly know humiliation when I send you parading around the Ghost Zone singing 'Mary Had A Little Lamb' and wearing a Little Bo Peep costume!"

"A what," Skulker asked, confused.

"Guys," I barked. "He's from another planet! He doesn't know what that is."

"Point is," Sam continued, "we need some answers and you are going to give them to us!"

"What is it you want to know," Skulker asked, crossing his robotic arms.

"Who are the Observants," Sam asked.

"You're kidding right," Skulker asked. "They're the royalty… well, they were."

"Did you know about that," I asked, my eyes narrowing. "Before the King, I mean."

"No, no, no," Skulker replied too fast. "Not at all. Why, if I knew… yes. I knew."

My glare increased, "Why couldn't you warn me or something? Maybe I could have stopped the transfer. I could have allowed these Obervants to complete the job."

"Because they're just as tyrannical as the King was," Skulker defended. "Okay, maybe not as tyrannical but most certainly terrible rulers. All we want to do is go about our afterlives, living in peace but they are completely strict on what a ghost can do and can't do. You think Walker is strict. You haven't seen anything until you've seen the Observants."

"But they just try to protect the Ghost Zone and the future," I remarked, confused. "What's so bad about them?"

"For one, they're furious that they've lost the control of the Ghost Zone. But before, they let the power get to their heads. I've watched them for all my nine hundred years go about their lives, ignoring the needs of the ghosts. The only thing they've done good so far was when they made the arrest of a titan. But they didn't do it for the good of the Zone. They arrested him because he was powerful enough to rival them. When they developed the proper holding cell, they arrested him."

"I still don't see what is so wrong here," I replied.

"Danny," Sam declared. "Will you open your eyes? They didn't hire Clockwork to kill you because it saved the future, they did it so they could remove you from power!"

"Clockwork," Skulker replied. "You've met the Master of Time?"

"Oh, yeah," Tucker remarked. "Loveable cuss!"

I chuckled at his choice of words but left it be. What were the odds of me seeing Clockwork again? If I tell them about him being on our side, I'd have to explain how I knew that. They don't need to know I existed in another timeline that they died in.

"The Observants hired Clockwork to kill you," Skulker reviewed. "I agree with Goth Girl. They were aiming for you to destroy Clockwork and maybe he would destroy you. Obliteration. But that's stupid. If you obliterated the Master of Time, you obliterate the timeframe. It's suicidal!"

"Maybe they weren't trying to destroy Clockwork," Tucker remarked. "After all, he was evil too."

"Clockwork is neutral to the sides," Skulker replied. "While most ghosts honor the conquering and non-conquering guidelines, Clockwork is the only one who is neutral. He has to be. To protect the timeframe, he must conquer but sometimes he must surrender. It's a delicate balance. Like the halfa."

"Well, I heard I'm a conquering ghost," I retorted.

"Plasmius tell you that," Skulker looked sympathetic. "It's true but it's still a delicate balance. While you are conquering, you are also defending. It's the same thing with our haunts. Your haunt, until you die, will be in the human realm. I know if you tried to force your way into my haunt, I'd fight until obliteration."

"Thanks," I smiled softly. "And we'll leave you now," I replied.

"Just get out of here," Skulker said, his voice going hard again. "I don't want anyone thinking we're friends."

"Don't worry," I replied. "The feeling's mutual."

We boarded the Specter Speeder but Sam didn't speed off. Tucker was sitting in the middle this time, playing with his PDA again. Finally, he attached it to the GPS system and Sam took off. I wondered where we were going that they'd need directions. Finally, I saw the destination.

"Oh, no," I groaned. "Come on, guys. Let's not do this!"

"You're going to have to face facts," Sam declared. "Best take the bull by the horns."

"Yeah, well this bull fight will make me the King of All Ghosts," I groaned. It even sounded wrong coming out. She docked the Specter Speeder at the castle of the King of All Ghosts. They've been here before, of course, but it was from the location of Amity Park relative to the Earth. They also had my signature they tracked straight to me.

We disembarked the Specter Speeder, walking towards the castle's entrance. I held my hand up, keeping them back. I opened the door, expecting the worse to happen. Finally, I came into the front room yet everything stayed the same. I walked back to the door.

"Tucker," I called. "Sam, stay there."

"Oh, come on," they both cried, Sam aggravated and Tucker terrified. Tucker tentatively walked towards me. I ushered him in using my hands until he was at the doors edge. I ceased his forward motion and Tucker didn't think twice.

"I welcome him," I asked, questioning.

"Demand it," Sam screamed. "Own the saying. You are King. You are the dominate ruler. You do not ask something, you demand it."

"Okay," I breathed. "Tucker is welcome," I declared. I tried to feel powerful, the way I do when I'm in an epic fight. Finally, I reached out for Tucker's hand. He gripped it until his hand was practically a death-grip white. He closed his eyes, putting one foot on the floor. Nothing happened.

I released his hand. "No," Tucker cried, pulling one leg up and covering his head. Still, nothing happened.

"Sam is welcome," I declared again. Sam walked in, a little hesitant but otherwise confident. Finally, she pushed Tucker who held his position. Tucker screamed like a little girl.

"Shut up, Tucker, you idiot," Sam retorted.

I smirked, glad that this worked out. I walked further into the castle, knowing that by this time through Halloween, I was flying for my life.

"I'm alive," Tucker said, almost asked. His footfalls began to follow Sam's and my own. The castle was beautiful now that I could be here without nearly dying.

"This is amazing," Sam called in wonder.

Tucker also admired the architecture, "It's just like a medieval castle."

"Well, I imagine that's from the time he was from," I commented, opening up a door. It was heavy and hand carved.

"It actually appears to be from the Gothic Ages," Sam replied, "Maybe Romanesque."

"It's flashy," I replied, walking into the new room. There stood three large thrones. "What in the world? Did the King rule with someone?"

"No sir," someone replied. I jumped into the air, actually floating since I was human. "I am sorry I frightened you, your majesty."

"Who are you," I asked, my voice high.

"I am Pope Steven, sir, the leader of the Clergy. I will serve you in any way you see fit," he replied.

"Pope," I asked, my eyes bugging out.

"Indeed, sir," he addressed me.

"Wait a minute," Sam objected. "Pope Steven. It couldn't be."

"What," Tucker asked.

"Roman history. In the eighth century, the Lombards were threatening to overrun the Roman city of Cobstantinople and the pope at the time, Steven II, turned to the Franks for help. Don't any of you pay attention in history class?"

"No," both Tucker and I replied. "Is what she's saying true," I asked.

"Yes, sir," he replied. "When the Observants conquered King Pariah, we were locked away as well for being followers of his highness. We did not wish to follow King Pariah but after we saw what he done to his family, we did not wish to anger him."

"Okay," I replied slowly. "Look, I'm not looking to rule anything. I'm just looking around."

"I respect your reluctance, sir, but I must urge you to ascend your throne," Steven remarked.

"Well, I got a job for you," Tucker replied, walking over to the thrones. "Do you have any grub around here?"

"Grub," Steven said for a minute. "You mean food. Yes, we do have provisions. I shall bring them to you, Lord Tucker."

Tucker looked up at Pope Steven with wide eyes and he broke out in a large grin. Oh, goodness, he's getting a big head again.

"Tucker," Sam scolded. "Could you not call him lord?"

"I may only accept that command from King Danny," Steven replied. Well, I have to say I like the nickname.

"Please," I replied. "Just a first name basis. Sam, Tucker and Danny. No lords, no ladies and definitely no kings."

"As you wish, sir," Steven replied as he bowed and walked out. I turned to the thrones and Sam had taken a seat, her face lit up in a smile.

"Wasn't the church of ancient Rome as powerful as the kingdom itself," I asked.

"There's probably a reason they chose him to serve as their high spiritual leader," Sam said, leaning back in the chair. Her eyes were alit with the humor in this situation. "Pope Steven II changed the face of the world," she began. "If he hadn't sought help from the Franks, the world would be a much different place."

"So you're saying because this guy, Steven, was still humble they chose him to serve as Pariah's high priests."

"Not priest," Sam corrected. "That's like Egypt. He is a Pope. Respect that."

"You know I don't understand this stuff," I brushed it off. "So, why does he call you and Tucker lord and lady? Is that a sign of respect?"

"It could be but it signifies some kind of nobility; a duke, a baron, a count. I'm not sure why he called us lord and lady. You'll have to ask Pope Steven II."

Sam and Tucker lounged around the chairs while I tried to imagine them as anything but a throne. I did not want to think about ruling. I have enough chaos in my life. It's not like I can fit in 'run an entire dimension'. But finally, Steven returned but he had nothing with him. Tucker looked about to complain when Sam smacked him in the arm.

"You're requested provisions," Steven replied, waving his hand. A table appeared, decked with delicacies. My eyes widened at his display of power. It was quite extraordinary.

"Now that rocks," Tucker declared.

"Tucker," Sam hissed. She might be a Jew but she respects other forms of religion. She has always respected all of the sanctions.

"Madam Sam, it is perfectly fine. Sir Tucker may do as he wishes. After all, this is his home too."

"Yeah," I replied, earning a glare from Sam. "What's up with that?"

"You wished for Sam and Tucker to accompany you in your hierarchy," Steven replied. "The castle bends to your wishes. When you wished to expand your dignitaries, the castle made it so."

"Wow," I said, my mind overloaded. This is quite something.

"Is there anything you shall be requiring," Steven asked.

"No," I replied.

"Do not hesitate to ask," he replied, bowing as he walked out of the room. I had to look twice; he was walking.

"It's so weird," Sam replied, picking up an apple. I grabbed one myself, fighting back the jealously that she had one. Stop that! There are plenty of apples. "He's from a time where today's English would not exist. He would have no way to speak the perfect English that he speaks. Yet, he speaks perfect English!"

"It's to do with the multi-cultural combinations of the Ghost Zone," I replied. "So many cultures. So many times. They need to speak a common language but really, we just speak each other's language. I imagine if I was the only one here, he would have been speaking Italian."

"Latin," Sam corrected.

"Whatever," I replied. I bit into my apple and my little one relished in its taste. Tucker was chomping down on the food, no table manners at all.

O_O

After Sam and Tucker finished eating (I cut up the apples and was snacking on them as I went along), we took a tour of the castle. Pope Steven didn't assist us here. The bishops, three of them, joined us here. How many people are in this castle?

"The castle used to be a part of an elaborate system," one of the bishops explained. "The castle expanded 32,000 acres of the Ghost Zone, eight complexes in total. When The Observants overthrew King Pariah, they turned the complexes into one castle. The Observants had attemped to destroy the kingdom but the kingdom itself is a ten."

"Wow," I replied as I walked down the halls. "How was the King so powerful?"

"He is the only child of King Pippin and Queen Bertrada born in the Ghost Zone," he replied. "His majesty and his queen were very powerful ghosts, tens, and the child they created was a powerful ghost. King Pariah was obsessed with power and became paranoid. The tensions between the princes and the princesses were high to begin with but King Pariah destroyed the family. He conquered the Ghost Zone and became the first King of All Ghosts."

"Amazing," I replied, my eyes wide.

They showed us the entire castle, even our sleeping quarters. And I thought Vlad's beds were huge! I believe that bed could sleep a bulldozer!

When we were served dinner, it made me realize I had no idea what time it was. The Ghost Zone had no sense of time to a human (or a half human) and it was easy to lose track of time. The ghosts know how to gage time just the way humans know how to on Earth. I've heard that ghosts lose track of time on the human plane.

It was six-fifteen when they served dinner and I knew after we ate, we needed to go on patrol. After Sam and Tucker finished their dinner, we bid our farewell. When we made it back to Amity Park, I had a mess to clean up.

"You know," Tucker remarked after he sucked his ghost in his thermos. "Perhaps we should pay more attention on weekends and holidays. At school, we're at the epicenter of the ghost attacks. Here, we're isolated from them."

"You may be right," I replied as I sucked a ghost of my own in my thermos.

"Guys," Sam called, "A little help!"

We ran over to her, adding some fire to her rounds. After a few shots from all three of us, the ghost lost its strength and Sam captured it. "You okay," I asked her.

"Yeah," Sam replied, changing positions. She started shooting another ghost, weakening it in no time. She captured it just as she had the last.

"Hey guys," Tucker called. We relocated, helping Tucker take down his ghost. When it was weakened, he sucked it inside his thermos. The third ghost I captured after that was a bit difficult but I fired some rapid blasts, weakening it. On my fourth, Sam and Tucker captured the last two ghosts. Streets cleared.

We stayed out until eleven tonight, returning to Fentonworks at the end of the shift. Tucker was trying to convince us in going to the castle to sleep but I was against it. Those beds were so huge, there's a chance we could get lost! We were laughing as we came inside to find all four parents. Our laughter ceased, realization dawning on us. There may be no school tomorrow but we still have a curfew. With Tucker and Sam not at home, they were worried.

"Oh, crap," I said as I came to rest behind the couch.

"Kids," Mom Number Two cried, rushing over to hug all three of us. "You had us worried sick! Where have you been?"

As she finished hugging me, she moved on to Sam. She covered her face, embarrassment clearly evident. "We totally forgot! With school out for spring break, we weren't in any hurry to get home."

"We were fine," Tucker tried to calm Mom Number Two as Mom finally hugged him. "We were just carried away."

"This is all my fault," I replied. "I suggested that we stay out late so that I may end my day early. I didn't even think about curfew."

"You go out after you come in," Mom declared, fire blazing in her eyes. I may not be seeing things. Her mother is the fire queen.

"Look, we're sorry," Sam replied. "We would have never done this on purpose."

"I finally get it," Dad replied, his voice hard. "All three of you would be out at all hours of the night if Danny wasn't worried about your grades! What about yours, Daniel? Why aren't you worried about your own grades?"

"I am worried," I defended, "I just have more important things to do," I replied, focusing my eyes on Mom. She got my message crystal clear.

"That's the less important responsibilities you've let slide. Your grades, your chores, your curfew; everything that is important."

"You guys have no idea what has been going on in our lives," Tucker barked back. "Don't you dare try to tell us what is important and what isn't?"

"Tucker," Mom Number Two said sternly.

"No," Sam declared. "We have seen more in this life than every one of you combined. We have experience in things that you couldn't comprehend if you lived to be the age of a thousand years!"

"You're just children," Mom said, anger in her voice. "You may think you've seen it all…"

"That's the thing," Tucker said, his voice firm. "We haven't seen it all. Every day we're exposed to new and more terrifying things but we deal with it. You couldn't handle what we do day in and day out."

"Okay," I said, "that's enough." I checked my watch and it was only two minutes past eleven. "You guys are probably tired. Let's go to bed."

"I will be checking your room later," Mom replied.

"I'll be there," I said, turning to leave. "I can't say tomorrow will be the same, but tonight, I'm bushed!"

We headed up the stairs, retreating to our room. I might as well call it our room. Sam and Tucker both have cots built into the wall—comfortable cots, too but they rarely used them anymore.

O_O

"I thought you'd never ask," a voice said, smug and cocky. My heart raced, time ticking by so fast. This is it. It's just like it happened in my dream. This is the day Sam and Tucker's affected by the mystery element and become half ghost. I took off running, everything seemingly in fast motion as I tried to run through the mud. I pushed Tucker first, forcing him to collide into Sam. They tumbled to the ground as I pulled up a shield, trapping me inside with the small metal container that was tossed at my friends. Green smoke poured into the air, filling the bubble.

"Danny," Sam and Tucker screamed, fear in their eyes. I felt sleepy suddenly. I couldn't hold my head up. The rings formed around my waist, the shield falling as I powered down. I gasped out, desperately trying to fill my starving lungs but nothing relieved the pressure. I felt as if there was an entire building on my chest—no, my lungs. The rubble was in my body, pressuring against the lungs themselves.

"Go get Mr. and Mrs. Fenton," Sam screamed at Tucker as she fell to my side. She started to use her training in first aid to try to get air to my lungs but it wasn't a physical lodge. Something went horribly wrong. This wasn't supposed to happen.

O_O

"What happened," Mom cried as she rushed to my side. She extracted something that looked like a Band-Aid container of a first aid kit. She opened it up, the kit expanding to a fully stocked first aid kit, equipped with items only found in hospitals. She began to run through my vitals. "I don't understand," she said, worried. "Everything's normal."

"Oh, God," Sam cried as she snatched the pad Mom had written on. I watched helplessly from my back, desperately trying to get air to my lungs. I hadn't took a breath in at least ten minutes but I was still alive. I guess the reserves are keeping me alive.

"What was in that vial," I heard an angry voice demand.

"Tucker," another voice reprimanded. "He's sick too. He won't be able to answer your questions."

"Then he won't have to wait for this illness to kill him," Tucker spat. "I'll do it right now! Answer me!"

"It was my condition," a weak voice rasped. "He wasn't supposed to take it. Why did you take it?"

Why would you ever think I wouldn't help you, I asked. I can't speak. I can't breathe.

_Daniel, it's pushing you over. The same thing is killing me_. He broke out in a coughing fit, ending his mental link.

"Where did you make this," Tucker demanded.

"Colorado," Vlad rasped. "My cottage. In the lab. I-I don't understand. It should only imitate the condition, not affect him."

"You were sick, Vlad," Mom declared spitefully. "You didn't know what you were making! How the hell could you?"

Pain shot through my body and I rolled over, trying to dull the pain. Lilly screamed in pain from within my womb. I could feel her dying. I was only in pain and respiratory arrest. Lilly was taking the full force of the chemical. I was okay; she was dying and quickly.

_Mommy_, Lilly cried, her screams tearing through my heart. I tried to absorb the chemical. I tried everything in my body to remove it from her. I started to thrash as I heard her screaming becoming less powerful.

"Danny," Mom asked me, trying to hold me down. She thought I was having a seizure.

No, I sent out to her. I didn't care. I had to save my daughter. Mom, remove your hands. God, no, please. Not her. Not my baby!

_Mommy_, I heard her terrified screams and suddenly they vanished. I stopped my struggling. I stopped my gasping for breath. I just lay there, motionless, trying to hear her heartbeat. It was silent.

Lilly, please answer me. Lilly! But nothing returned.

I screamed out, the tears flooding from my eyes. My voice wasn't there, just a raspy echo of my pain. I rolled out of Mom's strong hands, lying my head against the concrete. I couldn't say it but I knew it. Lilly.

Hands started to pull me over on a gurney but I didn't care. I continued to cry, my tears in steady supply. Vlad had fell unconscious and wasn't aware of… what happened. I didn't care. If we survived this, I'd kill him. This was the end. I would never forgive him for this. If he did survive the condition, I will kill him with my bare hands.

Mom, Dad, Jazz, and Sam transported Vlad and I to Fentonworks. I couldn't see Tucker but I didn't really care. The hole in my heart hurt worse than anything this stupid virus was doing to me. The lack of air wasn't even painful anymore. Any pain dimmed in comparison. I held my stomach, praying for some kind of movement. It remained quiet and still.

They hooked us up to these machines and the single heartbeat that came from the EKG was a reminder. The thumping was quiet. Both Vlad and my heartbeats combined were quieter than ours on a regular basis. Sam was running around the room, trying to raise my vitals. Mom and Dad were following her example, not even questioning why she was giving a medication usually given to a patient with a low heart rate. No one moved towards Vlad. I had half a mind to ask them to save him so I could kill him personally but I didn't even have the will to do that.

Things became slower to me. My world kept slowing down until the blackness started creeping up on me. "Danny," Mom begged me. "Please, sweetheart. Hang on a little while longer."

There's no use, I sent to her. I didn't have the strength to fight to live much less keep my secret. I'm sorry you're going to go through the same thing I'm going through. It's hell, knowing your child… your child is dead. I'm so sorry to put you through this. Take care of Sam, Tucker and Jazz. At least you'll still have them.

"Danny," Mom begged. "I don't know how I'm hearing you in my head but please don't give up. We can do this."

That's just it, I said, tears slipping out of my eyes. I lost her, Mom. I lost my baby, I cried. She cried out to me to save her but I couldn't do it. I couldn't save my own daughter.

"Daughter," Mom asked. "Danny, please, hang on."

I don't have the will to live, I said, the tears continuing. Ghosts have both sex organs. Male ghosts can have babies. I was five months pregnant with my daughter. She begged me to save her but I couldn't!

"Danny," Mom begged. "Things happen that we can't control. Just, please, don't die on me here."

I opened my mind to everyone, even Tucker, which was God only knows where. Vlad was also included but I think he was dead anyway. I love you all. I tried to protect you guys but I was wrong. I should have allowed you to become half ghost. I'm so sorry that I'm having to put you through this. I don't want to scare Mom and Dad Number Two so could someone tell them I love them. If there's an afterlife for me to go to, I'll see you all again. I promise. I just can't do this without my daughter.

A loud humming noise reached my ears but I was still conscious. I guess I had enough reserve to last for a while. Mom started freaking out but Sam was trying to get my heart started again. She knew I could live without a heartbeat but we also knew it couldn't last forever. I wasn't immortal.

"Danny," Sam screamed. "No, Danny. Don't give up on me here!"

I'm sorry, I can't do this, I replied. I want you to know that you were always the one I wanted, I confessed, taking Sam's hand in mine. I've been with Vlad for two months but you're the one I love. I was with him because I couldn't have you.

"Please, Danny," Sam said, removing her hand from mine. She continued to do chest compressions. "I love you, too! You can't leave me here without you! I love you, do you hear me!"

That's nice to know, I said, feeling at peace. Everything started to drift away like I was sailing. You'll find someone who will take care of you. I'll see you if there's a place for me on the other side. Don't forget me, Sam.

"Danny," Sam screamed but it had an echo to it. I started to drift farther away.

"I've got it," I heard what I think was a man's voice.

"Hurry," a female voice cried. "We're losing him!"

"It's-," a voice began but completely faded away. Nothing but black surrounded me. Eventually, the greens and the purples started to swirl around me. I looked up to see Vlad holding a newborn baby.

"Hello, love," Vlad replied. I knew from the minute I laid my eyes on her that the baby was my Lilly.

"Give me my daughter," I declared, ripping her from his arms.

_Hello, Mommy_, she replied, her voice so clear and cheerful. _I've been waiting_.

"So have I," I replied, holding her close to me. My baby daughter is finally in my arms. Too bad it had to be like this.

"I'm so sorry, Daniel," Vlad said, his voice a soft whisper. I finally took a good look at him. Half of his face had white hair, slicked back; blue eyes and pale skin. The other half had black hair, standing up; red, bloodshot eyes; and his face was a pale blue, a side effect of being oxygen deprived. "I never intended for that to hurt anyone. Especially the two loves of my life."

"I know," I said softly. I wanted to hate him. I wanted to destroy him but I felt a powerful emotion inside of me. We were the only elevens in the galaxy, would be the only elevens in the galaxy and the only other one was madly in love with power. The pull tied us together and the only feeling I could have towards him was undeniable pure love.

I held my daughter tighter to me, cradling her in my arms. I didn't say a thing to Vlad but he understood. He wasn't to follow us. I was going back home to see my family and I would be doing it with Lilly only. I floated out of Pariah's Keep and towards the Fenton Portal.

My family was still in the basement, Mom and Dad Number Two joining them. Sam sat by my lifeless human form, crying uncontrollably. Tucker sat on the far side of the lab, as far from my body as possible. Dad still stood in the same area he was when I was still living. Jazz was sitting at the workstations, Mom sitting just a few chairs from her. Both had similar reactions: disbelief. Mom and Dad Number Two were standing by the doorway from where they came in. Their eyes stayed locked on my old form, Mom Number Two slightly shaking.

I balanced Lilly in my arms, her holding her head up even though she was less than a day old. She clung to me as a toddler does though she looked just like a newborn. I walked over to Sam, my eyes tracing my dead body. I looked just as I remembered. There was nothing screaming that I was dead. I didn't look like my ghost form. I was normal looking.

I gently laid my arm on Sam's, focusing on touching something from this… that world. "Sam," I said softly. She looked up, her purple eyes completely clouded.

"Danny," Sam asked. I smiled at her and she came off the floor, hugging me. "Danny!"

Everyone looked up at her declaration. Mom, Dad, Mom Number Two and Dad Number Two didn't crowd around me, just stared at me. Sam was in my arms already as Jazz and Tucker clung to me.

"I'm so sorry," Tucker cried. "I had the damn thing in my hand. I was here when you… when you…"

"It's okay," I replied. "This is what I wanted. I have my baby girl." I brought her closer. "Guys, meet Lilly Madeline Fenton."

"She's beautiful," Sam said, her eyes full of tears.

_Thank you_, Lilly said, opening her mind to everyone.

"Danny," Mom asked, her eyes confused. "Why do you look like that?"

"When you do my autopsy," I said, my nose wrinkling up, "you'll notice something strange about me. When the portal accident happened, I became half ghost. I'm Danny Phantom."

Their eyes lit in understanding and surprise. Mom and Dad had more of those emotions than Mom and Dad Number Two. I let the reveal hang in the air, not sure what this would bring. They would either be disgusted and glad I'm dead or not. It was up to them.

"I'm so sorry," Mom was the first to break down. She sunk to her knees, her hands reaching out to me but afraid to do so more than a few inches. She held her hands up, just barely away from her body.

"Lilly," I replied as I looked to her. She nodded to me, floating out of my arms. I walked over to Mom, sinking down to her level. "Mom," I said, softly. I took her barely outstretched arms and pushed them against her, holding her to me. "You have nothing to be sorry for. You were just doing your job."

"Oh, God," Mom cried, keeping herself pushed away from me. I still held her and it wasn't by force but she was terrified to touch me. "Please, baby, forgive me."

"I can't do that," I replied, my voice soft. "Because there's nothing to be forgiven."

"We fired on you," Dad said, his voice in horror. "We tried to destroy you! How could that not need forgiveness?"

"Because you were just doing your job," I replied. "I have such a clearer perception now in this new form. I see things so clearly now. I now know that what we did wasn't anyone's fault. I fired on you as well and I've mocked you and stole your property. However, I know that I did those things only because it was my job."

"But that's the thing," Mom cried. "I'm your mother. That's my job!"

"Sometimes, we have more than one job," I replied, pulling her up. "I don't hold you responsible."

It took her a few minutes but she eventually had the strength to stand on her own again. I floated over to Vlad, closing his eyes. I streaked his face with my hand, removing a stray hair.

"Don't tell me you still have feelings for him," Tucker declared, disgusted.

"I do," I replied, placing his hands on top of each other. I placed a kiss on his cheek. "It's the law of magnetism. Ghosts only marry others of the same power level. The only elevens are Vlad, the King and I. The King is in love with power and I'm in love with Vlad. It's that simple."

"If we were half ghost," Sam began.

"No," I replied, my voice calm. "I gave up my life, the lives of my daughter and my husband to prevent this. You will not turn half ghost. If I must destroy the portal, then I will. And then, we will only see each other when we're all reunited. Do you want that?"

"Danny," Sam pleaded. "We confessed to each other! We can't just ignore our feelings!"

"We have for months, Sam," I replied, my voice frank. I didn't want to hurt her but I belonged to Vlad now and he belonged to me.

"That's only because we were afraid," Sam said, her eyes watering.

"You'll find someone else," I replied. "I belong with Vlad now."

"No," Mom declared. "He killed you! I will not allow it."

"I'm not from your world anymore," I said, looking to her. "If you hadn't opened the portal, then this wouldn't be possible. Your son is dead. I'm just a projection of him. One day, you too will be a projection of yourself and only then will I be your son again."

"Danny," Mom Number Two begged.

"I won't leave," I promised. "We've been coming in and out of the Ghost Zone for months," I said, looking to Sam and Tucker. "Now, my path will be in reverse but I will continue to travel between worlds. Just now, I will truly be a conquering ghost. Remember, you two have kingdoms to run."

"As long as you're here," Tucker replied, "I'll take you, half face and all."

"What," I asked. I walked over to the very mirror I looked into and saw myself as a half ghost for the first time. Just like with Vlad, half my hair was black and half was white. Both sides were the mirror of the other because I wore that hairstyle in both forms. One eye was green while one was blue and one half of my face was pale while the other was a ghostly white. "Amazing," I replied.

_I don't have a two face_, Lilly said, floating by me. _I was an embryo up until the time I died!_

I smirked at her, no longer as sad as before. Life has a distinct pattern. I saw the way today was supposed to go. I was supposed to allow Sam and Tucker to become half ghost. Then, my daughter would have a future. Then, I could probably live a life with Sam. I messed with the grand design and I paid for it and so did everyone in my family. "I can't change the past but I can learn from the future."

Even though I was looking in a mirror and it was a common phenomenon, I reacted when my future-self looked dead in the eyes of his mirrored reflection. It appeared he was looking straight at me, saying those words. He knew I was watching. He knew I was having this dream and he was warning me. My blood ran cold and my heart stopped cold.

O_O

I shot awake, the tears in steady flow from my dream. As soon as I became conscious, I stopped my crying. My heart beat faster this time because of how that dream ended. My future self was warning me, no doubt in my mind. I sucked in air, calming myself down. My hands touched my stomach, Lilly wiggling in my womb. Just feeling her move gave me great comfort. I dreamed of the day I could hear her heartbeat like the one I prayed for in my dream. I had somewhere along the lines of one month before I reached that place.

I turned over, wrapping my arms around Sam while Tucker wrapped his arms around me, calling me some strange feminine name. I think that's the name he's given his latest PDA.

I snuggled into Sam, forgetting Tucker's embarrassing position. She loved me in my dream. Do I believe that or could it be she still hasn't fallen in love with me yet. I am still a good month from the day she confesses her love to me. If I've learned anything from this adventure, it's that entire galaxies can be built in a month's time.

O_O

The sun shone through the blinds and into my eyes. I opened them groggily, Sam and Tucker tangled in my sheets and me. I didn't move, just taking in the sight before me. Sam and Tucker slept peacefully, each one spiraled out on the bed. I wasn't looking to wake them up. They could sleep some more and honestly, I wanted to sleep some more too but I knew I had some business to tend to.

I heard a noise, causing me to stop my advance to turn intangible. I looked in the direction I heard the sound and my heart nearly dropped. Mom leaned casually against the doorframe, unaware she wasn't alone anymore. If I had turned intangible, if she didn't pick up on the translucence, Sam and Tucker falling through me would have been a dead giveaway.

I focused on Sam, gently lifting her off my chest and returning her to my bed. Once she was still sleeping peacefully, I worked on Tucker. My movements were still careful but I didn't give Tucker the grace I gave Sam. Sam was special. She always has been and she always will be.

I gently climbed out of bed and thanked my lucky stars I only weigh a little over eight-five pounds. I walked towards Mom, her watching my every movement. As soon as we were out of the room, I gently closed the door.

"What are you doing up," Mom whispered.

"I just woke up," I answered. "I'm becoming accustomed to getting little sleep."

"I can tell," Mom replied, her face displaying her disappointment. "I was up just before I know your alarm goes off so I came in and turned it off. Watching the three of you sleep, I just couldn't pull myself away. It was like I was peeking into a piece of Heaven."

I smiled warmly, remembering the dreams where Sam and I done the very same thing. "Why don't you go back to sleep," I said. "You deserve your rest."

"No," Mom smiled warmly in my direction. "I have a mystery to solve."

"I really wish you'd drop it," I sighed, "but I know better. I know I'd be unrelenting if my children were acting like I am."

"I wish you'd tell me," Mom replied. A horrifying image of Desiree popping out from under the floorboards entered my mind and I shivered. "Are you cold," she asked me.

"No," I replied. "Just imagining something not good," I replied. "There's a wishing ghost that has been spotted around town. To think of the damage she could do if she heard that wish. I really need to stop saying the 'w' word."

Mom smirked at me, her thoughts just about screaming at me. I wasn't really hearing her voice, I just know what she must be thinking. She's probably thinking I'm over exaggerating and surely a small little wish couldn't cause much trouble. If she were here through the meteor shower, she'd understand our situation. We've made it a team rule to never say the 'w' word but we've broken it countless times. You'd be surprised how often it makes its way into your daily conversations and you are not even aware of its presence.

"So," Mom replied. "I'll be downstairs if you need me. I'll be going over the evidence I've collected."

"Very appropriate," I replied. It would be just like a murder investigation only the victim is still around but now he's half dead. Oh well. I've got to be going to Elemerton.

O_O

The minute I walked through the door, a nauseating smell bombarded me. I focused on my lungs, exhaling. After a moment, my breathing ceased. I was a human but I was breathing the same way I do when I'm a ghost. I walked into the kitchen to seeing Vlad picking at his food, whatever he cooked becoming cold.

"Maybe you'll want to warm that up," I replied, making myself known.

"Daniel," Vlad said, his eyes shining. "I thought you weren't coming back."

I stuffed my hands in my pockets, "I thought about it but then I realized how stupid this all was. I'm blaming you for something you had no control over. It's the same thing if I tried to blame Sam or Tucker for not carrying weapons that day. The only thing I can do is try to prevent it from happening again." I walked over to him, "Can you forgive me?"

"There's nothing to forgive you for," Vlad replied, wrapping his arms around my waist. "The question is, can you forgive me?"

"I think that's the answer here too," I replied, leaning into him. I removed my hands from my pockets, wrapping them around his neck. I started kissing him, the passion building. Vlad started pushing me towards the table and that's when I broke the kiss. "I'm not making love on our kitchen table," I declared. I had standards!

Vlad picked me up, bridal style, and phased me to our bedroom. "How about here," he asked me.

"Perfect," I replied, pulling him back into a kiss. He laid me down on the bed as I began to sheath his coat. Vlad slipped my t-shirt over my head, tossing it across the room. His hands went to my belt, his lips causing a fire on mine. I pulled his shirt from where he had it tucked. It wouldn't be long.

O_O

I was back home before eight and Sam and Tucker had just woke up. Today was Wednesday so I had a therapy class at four o'clock today. I had plenty of time until then, though. We could do anything until that time.

After we ate, Tucker stood up. It was unlike him to lead like this so I was interested in hearing what he had to say. "I think we should go to TPHQ and work on a new project," Tucker suggested.

"What kind of project," Sam asked what was on my mind as well.

"A tracking application," Tucker replied. "We can set up a main monitor for observation at Headquarters and I can create a pocket monitor on my PDA. So when we're on vacation or it's the weekend, we can manage to monitor activity without making critical mistakes. In the Ghost Zone; no problem! Just monitor it from my PDA."

"I like it," I replied, thinking about something. "And I got the perfect monitor for the job. It's large enough to hold the entire area of Amity Park. The entire walled area!"

"I should be able to connect Mom and Dad's satellites to one that's on a national scale and we could monitor activity on a broad scale. Maybe even worldwide."

"Let's keep things small," I said, cracking a smile. "I'm overworked just on the small scale."

Tucker gave me a wicked grin, "Then maybe you'll change your mind about turning us half ghost."

Images from my dream last night filled my mind. That's the main reason why I had that dream in his world! That dream my future-self had was meant to warn him about Sam and Tucker becoming half ghost so that they wouldn't try it the way my powers came to me. I had the dream last night so I would truly understand the gravity of the situation. They can't turn half ghost or when Vlad comes down with that mysterious illness, he'll try to affect them like he tried in my dream and the vial will push them over, killing them—just like it did me.

"Are you okay," Sam asked me, her expression that of concern.

"Just thinking," I replied. I didn't elaborate and Sam and Tucker have given up on asking me to. Sometimes, they have wisdom beyond their years.

I opened their minds and we flown to the storage units in town. A few years ago we were walking around town when we came across this tractor-trailer on a vacant lot. A large sign hung on the side of it that said sale. We've found some pretty interesting things in those kinds of things before so we decided to check it out. We were astonished to find her selling her inheritance from her great-uncle straight out of the boxes. She told us that it was just useless collectibles that he had collected over the years and she didn't have the space for it so she was trying to get rid of it.

We took a look around but by her description, we didn't anticipate on finding anything amazing. How wrong were we when I came across these long cases? I opened them up to discover them full of baseball cards. I was a collector of baseball cards so I thought he might have something of interest. When I was packing them out of the truck, underneath them was this little scrapbook type of book. I opened it up to find a coin collection.

Uh, not my thing but what the heck, I thought back then. She was asking $75 dollars for the coins but $200 for the baseball cards. I really wanted them so I paid her the seventy-five and ran home for the two hundred. I didn't have that much money on me but I knew Mom and Dad would 'loan' it to me. I planned on surrendering my allowance until I could repay them and I was sure a few weeks without Nasty Burger would be worth it.

Sam got a 'crystal' necklace that she liked and Tucker was eyeing a set of comic book covers. She told us that's what it was so we didn't think twice about the title pages of Superman, even down to the early years. She only asked twenty dollars for that but I bought Tucker his collection of Batman covers with a little money I had left over.

Later that night, Sam called me in a panic. She told me she was playing with her necklace, tapping it against a compact mirror, when it cut the glass. I didn't quite understand but Sam explained to me how real diamond can cut glass. She had only paid a dollar fifty for that necklace and it was cutting glass. So we gathered up our items we bought and scheduled an appointment with an appraiser.

We could have done the comic books ourselves but he confirmed that they were originals. They were complete books still in the sleeve and they were highly valuable. He confirmed that the crystal was in fact genuine and then it came time for my baseball cards and coin collection.

He opened the first page of the coin collection, took one look at the first coin and closed the book. The very first coin in the book was so rare, its value alone was worth millions. He refused to go any further without me insuring it because it was that highly valuable.

He looked at the baseball cards but it would take him a while for these. He wanted me to leave it there so he could work on it but I didn't trust him for some reason. Two hours later and he confirmed that the man had collected every baseball card ever printed and has 25,000 of them signed. With those two items, I had a hell of a lot of assets. I took them to the bank immediately after we left the appraisers office. I took out an insurance policy and called my parent's tax agent. I pay taxes on them every year and I report the ones I sell. I sold one baseball card for $50,000 dollars that weekend and I've still got the profit in the bank account.

That weekend I wanted to go to Dash's party, I wanted to borrow some money from Mom and Dad because it would take too long to get the funds out. Back then, I had it in a savings account. Now, I have a big chunk of it in a checking account and my college fund and most of the profits I earned are in two savings accounts. I went through too much trouble to borrow $250 for that stupid suit to leave it in the savings account.

However, after I discovered the truth about the items, my conscious was getting the best of me. This woman was practically giving away her inheritance. Her great-uncle had given her plenty of assets to make her a very wealthy woman. I couldn't allow her to do that until nothing was left. I fearfully went back to where the truck was parked that day and thankfully, she was still there. I didn't know who she was or where she lived. All I knew was where I bought those items.

I explained to her what I had learned but I told her I wouldn't return the items I bought. If she tried anything, I wouldn't have any proof that I bought them but I would have the Division on my side. She would not want to go there, I assured her. I didn't exactly explain how I would make her pay, but I believe she laughed harder than she ever had. She assured me that this was her fault so she would suffer though that consequence. For my honesty, she told me she had a gift for me. In the very back of the truck was an enormous 72-inch television with cases upon cases of movies, CDs, and games. The old man had just about (if not) every media release.

She told me that her apartment wasn't big enough for the television and no one seemed interested in buying them. They were real and even she knew that so she was asking a lot for them. She gave them all to me, the consoles and all. I am certain I couldn't put a value on this collection. I tried to deny her gift but she insisted_. Kid, I would have lost everything my great-uncle had worked hard to give to me if you hadn't come back. Even this set can't repay what you've done for me_, she told me.

The next day, she had an article in all of the newspapers in town, informing the community of what they had bought. She was quoted as to have said that she wanted to write a notice but the event was so big, that news broke about it. It's estimated that she had more than seventy-five million dollars in assets. Needless to say, she was wealthy. Her uncle had taken care of her well.

The TV was so enormous that I stored it in the storage units. I had plans to put it in the Headquarters but I forgot about it when they completed it. That's where we were going to. To, somehow, get that massive television to Headquarters and then put it inside. The only thing I can think of is thank God I'm half ghost!

O_O

With Sam and Tucker using their future powers, we managed to transport it easily but to get it inside was another story. I kept getting the angle wrong and it would go in crooked. I had already bought the rack to hang it on, all I had to do was correctly install it. However, it was proving to be more difficult than normal. Sam and Tucker only had powers, not strength. This was the only way we could do this.

"Sam, Tucker," I called out, trying to keep my grip on the massive TV. I believe this thing is seven times wider across than I am—maybe eight times wider across! "Go over to the wall and focus on making it intangible. I know you've never done this before but it'll be okay. I'll walk you through it."

"Okay," Sam replied as she and Tucker floated over to the exterior walls. Sam flew up to the top because she had control over up and down. Tucker floated over to the walls parallel to his height. He could get up and down but it was shaky and unreliable right now.

"Okay, put your hands on the wall." They did as I asked. "I want you to imagine the wall is a part of you. Connect to it. See it as an extension of yourself." They closed their eyes and tried to do as I said. Finally, I said, "Now, think of something embarrassing. Wearing the pink dress. Slipping up and saying wish just after Sam said not to. Think about it."

Sam was the first to attempt it but only the part that she was touching vanished. Tucker turned invisible but the wall stayed. "Imagine the wall is a part of you. You do it every time you turn invisible. You imagine your clothes are a part of you. Imagine that wall is a shirt or a coat. It's a part of you and if you don't turn it invisible, then you're going to be caught!"

"This is hard," Sam said, sweat beading on her forehead. She vanished again and more of the wall went with her. She's going to complete it first.

"Tucker, you turn your gadgets invisible all the time. Imagine the wall is a gadget," I replied.

"I have a better idea," Tucker said, removing one of his hands from the wall. He dug his hand into his pocket and pulled out his PDA. He put it against the wall. "Now the wall is my PDA."

The majority of the wall vanished and I was surprised. If Sam could accomplish that much, it would be enough for me to line it up. I could turn it intangible to fit it through it. I would have to. The wall's only invisible. You could still smack into it.

"Sam," I called, "go towards Tucker. If you could match what he could do…"

"I got it," Sam replied. She floated over to directly overhead Tucker. She couldn't quite accomplish Tucker's contribution at first but she focused, powered by being out done. Finally, a large enough portion of the wall became invisible.

"Great," I called. I floated up and then down into HQ, lining the TV up. As soon as it was lined up, I hung it on the bracket. Sam phased down while Tucker phased in.

"Good job," Sam said, smiling at Tucker and me.

"Same here," I replied. "You guys did good."

"You make it look so easy," Tucker laughed. "I always imagined that if I wanted something else to go invisible or intangible, all I had to do was ask it to. You have to imagine it's a part of you. Amazing!"

"I knew you two could do it. You did better than on my first try," I smiled at them.

"We had an amazing coach," Sam replied, crossing her arms and smiling in my directions. She leaned back, becoming comfortable.

"Okay," Tucker said. "No rest for the weary. We have work to do."

O_O

Tucker knew what he wanted and what to do. It was a slow process but eventually, the Team Phantom ghost tracker came online. I was looking at the location where HQ is and I could see what they identified as a ghost. I was showing up on the tracker as a brown dot. Excellent!

"I wonder why it's coming out brown," I asked, placing my finger just above the screen.

Sam pursed her lips together as she pondered. "I'm guessing it's because you have both ectoplasm and blood." she looked me in the eye, "What do you get when you mix green and red together?

"Okay, Danny," Tucker said, getting us back on track. "Go somewhere and call us back. Let's see if we can track you. And don't go to Ohio!"

I laughed, "You got it."

I flew out of the Headquarters and flew to the park. I removed my phone and called them. They knew exactly where I was. Just to be safe, I made a few more stops to check. Each time, they identified my location.

"I want to do one more thing," Tucker said. "I figured out something about this thing and I think that I can program it to do something else. Take Sam somewhere and overshadow her. Have her call me back once you've overshadowed her."

I looked to Sam a little panicked. "Are you okay with that?"

"Why are you asking me that," Sam said, her eyebrow raised. "You overshadow Tucker all the time without asking him first!"

"Yeah," I said, my voice soft. "But that's Tucker. We're alike, if you get my drift."

"Oh, for Heaven's sake," Sam shot. She took my hand and I flew her into the wooded area outside HQ. I didn't want the possibility of being caught overshadowing Sam. That could turn bad if someone else saw that and didn't know what was going on. Possession has pretty much been deemed unacceptable and the people of this town don't ever think I overshadow people.

Once I overshadowed her, I removed her phone and called Tucker. "This is awesome," Tucker called. "Mom and Dad even have a people tracker on this thing. You're coming up as a purple dot now. I've programed it so that we can track humans being possessed by ghosts. It works!"

"Good job, Tuck," Sam's voice said for me.

I phased out of her, holding the phone up for her to grab. "We'll be right there," she continued.

"Okay," I heard Tucker reply. They hung up and I flew us back to HQ.

"So you saw a human being overshadowed," I replied, touching her to the ground and floating over to the monitor.

"Yep," Tucker replied, turning in our direction. "I saw a brown dot and a red dot then the brown dot merged with the red dot, turning purple." He turned back to the console, "Mom and Dad don't have this feature. This is something I've created."

"I wouldn't want them to have that feature," I replied. "What could they do to remove the ghost?" I propped my hand against the console, looking at his work. "Do a full scan. Am I the only brown dot?"

Sam propped herself up against the console like I was as Tucker ran the scan. "I'm guessing it's a special dot just for a halfa. Like I said, what do you get when you mix green and red together?"

"Makes sense," I replied. "But, darn it all, that could be a problem. If both Danny Fenton and Danny Phantom has the same dot, things could get ugly. Mom's already on the warpath!"

"What's up with Mom," Tucker asked as he ceased the search. He started typing away on the console. I wondered if Vlad's blood was the same but Tucker didn't come across Vlad for some reason.

"What are you doing," I asked, watching the windows fly on screen and exit off just as fast.

"Programing the ghosts," he replied. "So we'll have a clue as to who we're seeing."

"Cleaver," I said, "how are you doing it?"

"That ecto-signature you were talking about," Tucker replied. "This thing tracks the blood. I can also program it so that," he replied, clicking on his dot. His profile popped up, "Tucker Foley can be identified not as a dot, but as a person." He clicked on the two dots beside of his dot and Sam and my profile each popped up. "Cool, huh!"

"Very," I replied. "But anyway, Mom and I were talking the other night and we were talking about responsibility and overloading oneself. I might have got a little carried away and now she's been going over the past year and a half, trying to figure out when this all went wrong. She knows it got really bad in October but she's trying to figure out when it all began. The last I was watching her progress, her pen was tapping between July and September."

"Ut oh," Tucker replied, stopping his typing. He turned in my direction, "What are you going to do?"

"You mean besides flee to Canada if they find out," I said, a small humorless laugh accompanying it.

"Danny," Tucker said, his voice scolding. "I'm serious. Mom and Dad would accept you."

"The parents would accept the son but would the ghost hunters accept the ghost," I asked. "I'm serious too, Tucker. I understand a lot about parenthood now. I know nothing can break that bond but I understand humans too. When we're hurt, we have a hard time forgiving. I understand that perfectly."

"Mom and Dad would understand the things you've done once they see your motivation," Tucker reasoned. "Everyone would. I've been watching their reactions and seeing what upsets them most. They just don't understand why you've taken the sudden interest. I'm talking about the townspeople too. Now, I'm not suggesting to tell everyone your secret. Needless to say, that would be bad. But I'm saying that if you allowed the people to get to know the real Danny Phantom, and not the teenaged ghost that saves the town, then maybe you'd have fewer enemies."

"Maybe," I replied, giving his idea some mulling over. So many people do wonder why I care. So many people are afraid that the only reason I protect this town is because I'm claiming it as mine. My parents, especially, are afraid that I'm feeding off the praise I get from the kids of this town and it's making me more powerful. Could I find a story good enough to cover why I protect this town? The real reason is I saw the ghosts attacking this town and I had the power to stop it. Could that cover the reason without getting me exposed?

"So, how many ghosts have you programmed," Sam asked as I was thinking about Tucker's proposal.

"The ones we have collected samples from," Tucker replied. There wasn't many of them. "Box Ghost, Skulker, Cujo, you know the lot."

"Yeah," Sam frowned. "There's not a whole lot."

"How are we going to get more," I asked. "All we have is maybe a dozen. A dozen isn't a lot compared to the thousands of ghosts we interact with." Not to mention the couple thousand I deal with at night.

"Well, the beauty is," Tucker replied, turning back to the console. "Ah, right here. Go to Court Street and take care of that ghost." He dug around in his backpack, removing a small scanner. "Keep this on you as you're fighting it."

"Okay," I replied. I took it, flipping it on. I phased out and went to Court Street. It turned out to be Technus. He had a small stand set up and he was standing on the ground. Multiple people were around him, giving him money and he gave them a CD. What the hell?

"Hello, there, young wiper-sn—Holy, jumping jacks! Okay, people, the stand is closing. Tell your friends," he replied, ripping a CD out of the hands of a kid. He folded it up and started running down the street. I just stared at him in shock.

"What got into him," a kid replied. He turned around. "Phantom! Dude, good to see you."

"Hi," I replied. "What's going on?"

"He may talk funny, but he's got excellent sources," a girl replied. I didn't recognize these kids. They did appear older than I was so there was a possibility they were upperclassmen.

"I guess he just got spooked." This kid I did recognize. It was Dash. "How are you doing, buddy?"

"Uh, fine," I replied. "So that's where you've been getting that pirated music?"

"Yeah," Paulina replied, smiling at me with stars in her eyes. "Why don't you come around more often?"

Because you're a creepy stalker chick. "My job is to protect this town. Not mingle with the citizens. Besides," I pointed to where Technus ran off to, "it scares some people."

I put my hand in my pocket and pulled out my phone, dialing Tuck's number. "Hey," I replied before he could say a greeting. "Where's that ghost?"

"Washington Street," Tucker replied. I took off in that direction. "Why didn't you get him?"

"You'd never guess," I replied. I turned the corner and saw Technus setting up his booth again. "I gotta go. I'll explain it to you later. Bye!"

"Technus," I shouted, landing on the ground. I crossed my arms across my chest, "Move and I'll blow this stand to kingdom come!"

"You cannot stop me," Technus cried. "I will control the world through the power of money!"

"What," I whined. "What's the big plan and don't say you don't shout your plans to the sky anymore. I kind of enjoy knowing what you're going to do."

"I, Technus, will raise enough money to rule the world by charging for these downloaded circular discs! I will make lots of money," he laughed like a wild man, "off of future music!"

"Future," I declared, the word picking up to me. What is it with these past two weeks that has the future involved.

"Yes," Technus cried out. "I have learned I can use the internet to download music that will be available in the future!"

"How on Earth are you doing that," I asked, surprised.

"I do not know but I am making a killing," Technus cried out. "So long, Ghost Boy!" The stand folded up in an instant and he dissolved away into his megawatts or whatever. I groaned out, furious that he got away.

I pulled out the cell phone and called Tucker again. "It's gone," Tucker reported before I could ask. "It had some kind of transportation power."

"Great," I replied. "I'm coming back."

O_O

"Who was it," Tucker asked as I handed him the radar.

"Technus," I replied. "He's got a new scheme."

"What else is new," Sam asked.

"Remember those CDs," I asked. "They're from the future."

"What," both declared, Tucker stopping his work momentarily.

"I don't know how he's doing it—he don't know how he's doing it," I declared. "But he's downloading music off the internet from the future."

"That's ridiculous," Tucker declared. "His power is over technology, not time!"

"But if he's got a computer, who knows. Maybe he can run through time," Sam said.

"Well, we know that Three Days Grace only has the one CD. How else could he have gotten it? And who's ever heard of Taylor Swift? How else could it be explained," I said.

Tucker chuckled, turning back to his work. "Maybe that's the secret to time travel. Going through the computer."

"That's how Digimon did it in the second season," I pointed out. We were addicted to that show when it came out.

Sam and Tucker laughed, Tucker finishing up his work. "Voilà," Tucker declared. "Now, when Technus comes out, we'll know it."

O_O

We done some training for an hour. After training, Sam and Tucker got something to eat while I called the shooting range in Richview. I wanted to reschedule some more practice time with the regular pistols. I didn't get a chance Saturday and I'd like to say it was excusable. I didn't want to be anywhere but in Amity Park that evening. I scheduled Sunday at two. Hopefully, this will go better than last time.

I walked into the living quarters to find Sam and Tucker picking at each other at the island. Sam was playfully degrading Tucker's choice while Tuck was complaining about how she was eating weeds. I stood in the doorframe, smiling at their playful picking. I don't know what happened or why it happened, but they've been getting along better than they had in the past few months since the accident. I know something changed around the Freakshow incident. They still argue but they've always been like that. The important thing is they're close again.

"So," I said, ceasing their fun. "Are you going to tell me what the fight was about?"

Sam's smile ceased and Tucker covered his head with his arms. "Thanks, Danny," Tucker retorted as Sam started hitting him. I stared in shock. "I'm sorry," Tucker cried.

"I should skin you alive for that," Sam declared, her smacks not really painful. She was barely hitting him. It was just a reminder of whatever he did wrong.

I rushed over to Tucker. I didn't mean to get him in trouble. I pulled Sam away from him gently. "Okay, you two. That's enough. What's going on?"

"I made a stupid miscalculation," Tucker said, looking out reluctantly. When he saw that I had Sam restrained, he lowered his arms. "It had to do with Sam's saying after your portal accident. She told you to not to dwell on what was happening. She meant don't become bitter. I heard be happy you're half dead."

Sam tried to rip out of my arms and I had to hold onto her tighter. "Whoa," I cried as she nearly slipped from my arms. "Calm down, Sam. It's okay. It was a simple mistake. I thought the same thing."

"But he knows," Sam seethed and she nearly slipped out of my hands again.

"Knows what," I asked confused. "Tucker?"

"She's pissed because I understand what you mean to her," Tucker said, rolling his eyes.

"I believe Tucker feels the same way," I said, my voice soft. I was assuming a lot.

"I like ya buddy, but not that way," Tucker laughed.

I groaned, "Are you trying to say that she's angry at you because she loves me? That's ridiculous."

"Believe what you will," Tucker sighed. "You both are swimming in denial and it's over your heads."

"Sam," I said, turning her towards me. "Tucker knows that you care about me. He was just scared like all of us were."

When I looked at her, I noticed tears budding in her eyes. "But it's not forgivable," Sam said, her voice hard. "How could he ever think I could think that?"

"What did any of us know back then," I asked. "Come on. Dry those tears."

Sam wiped her eyes with her forearm angrily. "I've forgiven him as long as I'm not reminded. But he knew. He knows everything and he still thought I would take you any way than the way you already are. You were perfect before."

I laughed nervously, "I'm not perfect. Never have been and never will be."

"Don't you believe that," Sam smiled. "Because, Mr. Fenton, I have never met anyone closer to perfect."

"Feeling better," I asked.

"Yeah," Sam smiled at me. "Just, for Tucker's sake, don't remind me again."

"You don't need to worry about that," I replied. "And neither do you, Tucker. I always knew that fight was stupid but now, I know it was even more so than I thought."

"Believe me," Tucker groaned. "I was way off. I was so angry when she said that. I really thought that she was happy that you were going through those things. I never knew she was trying to help you. I am so sorry, Sam."

Sam didn't say anything, just looked in another direction. I knew that was hard for her. I don't know why it's this difficult for her but I know that she's struggling with the idea that I would ever think that she wanted me to go through this. I just always thought she had no idea how hard my life had become. Maybe she did know. Maybe she still knows.

**AN: My dear readers, if you wouldn't mind, could you tell me of your experience reading the scene of the prophetic dream. I would really like to know if I wrote that clearly enough. Tell me if you see the scene unfolding and if you got emotional. I'd appreciate it.**

**There's a new poll on my profile page. Check it out now!**

**I will have the second installment of chapter companions posted Sunday. As always, all chapter companions can be found on my forum page.**

**Team04Phantom**


	6. Chapter 6

**Disclaimer: I don't own Danny Phantom.**

**Warning: This story contains reference to rape, sexual content, male sex and pedophilia. If any of this disturbs you, please do not read.**

**Chapter Six: Suspicions and Questions**

As four o'clock approached, I realized I had miscalculated. How was I exactly supposed to leave to go to therapy with Sam and Tucker hanging around? There was no homework and it's not like I can slip out without them wondering where I was going. I managed to slip out Monday but I realize now how lucky I was to get away. I won't be able to manage a repeat. They won't believe that I need a nap today. I was in a pickle.

Tucker was playing one of the games on the television while Sam and I laid on the couch. Sam had her feet hanging over the armrest and her back was resting on my shoulder. Sam sat so comfortably on my shoulder that I had to remind myself that I wasn't dreaming. I had to admit, it was scary at how friendly she got with me. It's times like this that I wonder if Tuck may be right.

The fire cracked and popped, warming Sam. She started to drift to sleep on my shoulder, her head nestling into my neck. I gently propped my head against hers, wishing desperately I could smell her shampoo. I retrieved the smell from my dreams and imagined I was breathing it in now. I heard Tucker's game shut down. He took a seat beside me, pulling his legs up on the couch.

"Why don't you just tell her how you feel," Tucker asked me. "And why can't you see that she loves you." He motioned towards Sam as he said the last sentence.

"I don't know, Tuck," I said, moving a strand of her hair. "I'm so conflicted right now. I want her. I mean, I really want her but I think I can't have her. I think I belong to another."

"Who," Tucker asked me, his brows furrowing.

"It's hard to explain," I replied. "It has to do with all the dreams. I had another one last night."

"What did you dream about," Tucker asked me, his voice low.

"Another death dream," I replied. "This time, though, everyone was there. I came back to the human realm after I died to show you guys that I was okay. Sam told me she loved me and Mom and Dad accepted me. I get to thinking, you know, maybe I can tell my secrets and everything will be all right but I just don't trust those dreams. One thing happens and the entire thing is thrown out of whack."

"Not that," Tucker said, his head down. "Did you suffer?"

I chuckled softly, "Not really. I was beating myself up more than anything. I made a stupid mistake." I paused for a minute. "Right before I woke up, I was in front of a mirror. He was thinking to himself all the way up to the last thing he said then he looked at his reflection in the mirror and said, 'I can't change the past, but I can learn from the future.' It was creepy."

"Man," Tucker whispered, his eyes wide. "I bet that scared the crap out of you."

"My heart beat a little faster," I admitted. "I've had the feeling that my future-self knew I would have this dream but never has one looked at me. I mean," I paused for a second, "I'm not even a real presence. I'm just experiencing it through them. It was really creepy."

"Did you learn anything," Tucker asked me.

"I'd like to think I did," I replied. "If I'll act on what I learned is another story, though."

"I wish you'd tell her," Tucker whispered. "You don't know how hard it is to keep convincing you guys of the truth. Sam believes that she can only tell you when the world is ending but when she got her chance, she was afraid that the news would distract you and you wouldn't come back."

"Oh, come on, Tuck," I objected. "What has Sam got to worry about?"

"You mean other than your complete rejection of her," Tucker retorted. "She's a very sensitive woman, Danny. She only acts tough."

"She's strong," I replied, "but I know she's flesh and blood. But she's beautiful, Tuck! Why would she think that I would reject her?"

"Because she's the only one who doesn't see her beauty," Tucker whispered. "She doesn't see herself as pretty. I don't even think she thinks of herself as attractive."

"That's ridiculous," I replied, looking at her. She nestled into my neck, her hair lying over her shoulder. Her right hand propped her head up against my shoulder, her elbow just barely touching my chest. She was the most beautiful woman in the world. How could she not see that? "Look at her, Tuck. Have you ever seen a more beautiful woman?"

"She is beautiful but I don't see her the way you see her," Tucker spoke softly. "She's my sister. Jazz is quite beautiful. Do you see her the same way you see Sam?"

"No," I remarked. "It's kind of like Valerie to you. Valerie is more beautiful to you than anyone else in the world."

"No she's not," Tucker retorted. "I can't stand that woman!"

"Oh, come on, Tuck! You can't let the tensions between Phantom and the Red Huntress get in the way of your feelings!"

"Easy for you to say," Tucker retorted. "Let the roles be reversed and see how fast you make her out to be the villain."

"I could say the same thing. If you saw things the way I saw them, you wouldn't be so quick to judge her," I spoke softly.

"The only thing you see differently is that she's firing on you," Tucker objected. "You can't see that what you do is of any importance so you don't see the threat she poses!"

"I too see the importance of what we do," I softly objected. "And she's not a threat to that. If she were, then maybe I would be implied to do something."

"See," Tucker said, his voice rising a tiny bit. It wasn't enough to disturb Sam so I didn't say anything. "It's what we do," he continued, his voice returning to its previous frequency. "You don't see how much you, personally, mean to the world. You're just like Sam, but instead of not seeing your beauty, you don't see the hero."

I turned my head from him, looking at Sam again. I wasn't a hero. I know many heroes. They're the ones who rush into burning buildings and respond to 911 calls. They pull people from car crashes and fight our wars. They aren't people who cause enormous damage or who released the nuisance to begin with.

"I think we should go back to the house," I replied, my voice soft. I was trying to think of a way out so I could go to my therapy session. As much as I don't want to go, I don't want to test Dr. Reynolds. I wouldn't put it past her to involve the police. She has involved herself into so much of what I do and what I'm going through.

"Why," Tucker groaned. "All we get there is problems."

"I know," I sighed, "but we can't run from it. All we're doing is fueling the fire they're building. If all we give them is cold ashes, then they'll never figure it out."

"I'm not afraid of them finding out," Tucker responded, pulling his legs out from under him.

"Well, I am," I declared softly.

"I'm just tired of their bullshit," Tucker continued. "They believe that they know what's best for us. They believe that they know more than us. They can't touch the life experience we've had! No one can!"

"Well, we can't expect them to know that," I replied calmly. "If we keep them isolated from our lives, we can't blame them for what they don't know. It's like if I were angry at you guys for something you didn't know. When you keep secrets, they're only responsible for what we tell them."

"Do you ever wished you told us everything," Tucker asked, his voice soft.

"All the time," I replied. I wrapped my arm tighter around Sam, "I have so many things I've wanted, needed, to discuss with you. I know, too, that some of the toughest things I've ever went through would be significantly different if I included you… then, I see the things I did include you in." I looked away, "To see you guys, struggling with what to do or what you can do… I can't take that. Right after the portal accident, I started to tell you guys everything… but there was nothing you could do. All you could do was suffer with me. That's selfish. Why must I inflict pain on you when I'm the only one in pain?"

"You're not the only one in pain," Sam's sleepy voice met my ears. "We might not be able to stop it but it doesn't mean we can do nothing."

"I'm sorry I woke you," I sighed. I guess I squeezed too tightly.

"I just wish I was more involved in this conversation," Sam replied, rising off my shoulder. "God knows how long and about what you were talking about."

"Not long," Tucker replied. "I was just trying to convince Danny to confess his feelings for you." I listened in horror. He was confessing to her what I had told him! "He did mention something interesting, though."

"Tucker," I objected, my voice hard.

"He had a dream last night," Tuck continued despite my warning.

"What was it about," Sam replied. She positioned herself on the couch so that she was facing me.

"Nothing you need to worry about," I replied.

"Oh, yeah. Nothing at all," Tucker said, sarcastic. "He only died in his dream, surrounded by everyone."

"What," Sam declared. I covered my face with my hand. "How did you die? How did he die?"

"That I don't know," Tucker said softly. "He started talking about what his future-self did in the dream."

"What," Sam declared, "die?"

"No, he looked into a mirror and said that he couldn't change the past but he could learn from the future. Like he was talking to Danny through the dream."

"Whoa," Sam breathed.

"Yeah," I finally said. "That was the weirdest dream I'd ever had."

"What did you learn and how did you die," Sam asked me.

"I died from my own stupidity," I replied, "and I learned not to be stupid on that day."

"Danny," Sam declared, crossing her arms across her chest.

"Look, there's nothing to worry about. It was just something I was considering and my dream told me it was a bad idea. No big deal."

"Why do you do this," Sam said, standing up. She crossed her arms again, stopping by the fireplace. "Why do you keep locking us out? Are we not enough anymore?"

"What," I cried. "No! You guys mean everything to me. That's why I lock you out. My life is like an angry dog trapped in a pin. If I let you in, all that's going to happen is you're going to be attacked too."

"Maybe we could destroy the dog together," Tucker replied.

"Maybe we would be able to tame it," Sam said, shooting a glare to Tucker. "That's like saying we're going to help Danny commit suicide!"

"Or maybe you would face the dog and it'd hurt you," I said, my voice dropping. "I've been on the bad side of this life. It can drag you down fast and you have no idea how many times you have pulled me right back up. I may fall down, but you guys make sure I never stay down!"

Sam walked back over to the couch, sitting down on the cushion facing in my direction. "Imagine what could happen if you included us. Tell me, Danny. What is the biggest thing you're going through right now?"

Let me think. No; can't tell them; bad idea. The top three things (morning sickness, pregnancy and Vlad) are off limits. What could I tell them? "I guess it would be the nighttime ghosts," I replied. I had to make sure it was bad enough to cover 'the biggest thing in my life' but not so bad that it would hurt them. Sure, the nighttime ghosts are bad but they're just exhausting.

"What kind of problems are you having," Sam asked me.

"Keeping me up at all hours of the night, making me sneak out, and number one is how ruthless they are," I replied. "They're not out for fun. When I fight them, there's every bit of a chance someone could get killed."

"So you're saying that the biggest problem with the nighttime ghosts is having so much weight on your shoulders," Sam replied. "Imagine what would happen if you talked about some of that weight. Talked to us about what it's doing to you, mentally."

"Imagine what it would do to you," I said, my voice going low. "I barely survive the crushing blow. What would happen to you two?"

"Danny, we've been to enough carnivals. You're familiar with the nail board, right?"

"Of course," I answered her. "Someone lies on a bed of nails but they're not impaled."

"Do you know why this phenomenon happens," Sam asked me, a smile on her lips. Of course I knew what happened. We watched a show about it once or twice.

"Spreads the weight over the entire unit," I answered. "All the nails aren't in the same place, allowing for the performer to distribute its weight." I got it. "But that's not the same. My burdens aren't nails and you guys can't just soak up them in little qualities."

"You let us worry about that," Tucker interrupted me. "Just talk to us about something. Give it a test run."

"Even if I found out you guys could handle it, I couldn't tell you everything. Just keeping a few lies is a bad idea. It'd be just like Mom, Dad and the town. I'd practically be hiding that life from you guys."

"Are you telling me you can't tell us something, not that you don't want to," Sam asked me, confused. "Who's forcing you?"

"No one's forcing me," I objected. "I just know you guys would never approve."

"Okay," Tucker said, looking at me weird. "Why do I have a feeling that has to do with that other thing you told me?"

"I don't know," I replied. "I have never mentioned this and there's a good chance I will never mention it to you guys."

"What other thing did he tell you," Sam asked him.

"He told me that he wonders if he can have you anymore because he might belong to another," Tucker replied and I nearly died. I forgot I told him that. "I just wrote it off to being a dream because he started talking about the dream he had but what if Danny is involved with someone. What if he's seeing someone that he's afraid we won't approve of?"

"That's ridiculous," Sam declared. "Right Danny? I mean, where would he have time to be seeing this mystery woman? He's either with us or fighting ghosts!"

"That's true," Tucker groaned. "Maybe it was dreams. So, any ideas as to what this mystery unacceptable deed is?"

"Isn't it obvious," Sam replied. "He's putting his life on the line. He won't tell us about his bad ghost fights." Sam turned to Tucker and I had to hide my sigh of relief. "He won't tell us about the fight with the King, he's skeptical about the fight in the future, with Dan; he's secretive about this Invincible guy and he didn't say anything about him fighting the nighttime ghosts. He won't tell us about the bad ghost fights he's involved in."

Okay, Fenton, Sam has given you an opening and you have to take it but not just that, you have to own it. I can't make this sound like I'm jumping on her bandwagon. I have to make it look like she's discovered my secret.

I kept my face smooth, like I was trying to hide a secret. If she was truly onto my relationship with Vlad, I would be a nervous wreck. To portray this accurately, I have to pretend that I'm a nervous wreck pretending that I'm not. It's not an easy balance to walk.

"Well, Danny," Tucker replied, looking at me finally. Okay, show time.

"Why would you think that," I replied. "I only risk my life when the occasion calls for it."

"Oh, yeah," Sam replied. "And you've not had way too many death dreams."

"No," I sighed. "I've had way too many of those. Why do you think I keep on my toes?"

"So what is it if that isn't it," Sam asked me, a small smirk on her lips.

"I won't give it away," I retorted. "I'm trying to keep it, remember!"

"Can't you narrow it down," Tucker asked. "Is it a secret romance?"

I laughed, "Yeah! When would I have time for romance?"

"And it's not ghost related," Sam asked.

"Of course it's ghost related," I retorted. "What else would it be related to?"

"Is it specific-ghost related," Tucker asked. I noticed what they were doing. Holy hell, they don't believe it has something to do with me risking my life. How could I let this go this far? They're narrowing it down!

"Okay," I scolded. "I'm onto your game. You can stop it right now," I replied. I stood up, walking over to the fireplace. I sent an ectoplasm shield around the fire, smothering it. "Let's go."

_So close_, a female voice declared. _Why do I have the feeling we touched it?_

_I keep forgetting who I'm messing with_, a male voice declared, upset. _Danny's no fool. I should have let Sam take that round. Stupid!_

I smirked. It was getting so easy to read their minds now. I don't have to ask anymore. The only thing that has to happen is for them to think hard. Pretty soon, I may be able to tap into any thought concerning a specific material.

O_O

I had to fly quickly to the clinic. Sam and Tucker left of their own free will, wanting to work through what they learned by themselves so they could brainstorm. I don't know if it was a blessing or a curse so I'll leave that up to the fates. I was late but at least I was getting there within twenty minutes of start time. I would have to fly to Elemerton to pick up my notebook first. I wanted to keep that away from wandering eyes.

I noticed the house was empty when I arrived. I didn't have time to look for him but I made a note to come here after my session to look for Vlad. I grabbed my satchel that now held everything related to the clinic. It won't even take a minute to get to the clinic from here.

O_O

"Well, at least you showed up," Richardson groaned, looking over my entries. "They're a mite short." She glanced at me from the top of her eyes.

"I've been busy this week," I replied. It may be true but I wrote exactly how much I wanted to write. I don't believe in writing what you don't want read. It's stupid!

"You should still make some time to write half a page. You barely wrote a paragraph," she commented.

"Lady, my assignments are sometimes not complete and I need those grades," I retorted. "I assure you, that this isn't on the top of my priorities!"

"Well, what would become of your assignments if you've become mentally unstable because I'm telling you, you are desperately close to having a nervous breakdown."

"Don't be ridiculous," I retorted. "I just have a few issues."

"Yes, but those few issues are bigger than what most people can handle," she said softly. "I haven't even got you to open up to me and I bet I can list a dozen issues that you have."

"I'm just here to talk for a few minutes and leave," I declared. "I don't want to hear you're theories."

"You are going to have to talk to somebody," she declared. "I don't know what issues you have with me but I need you to talk to me. You're a ticking time bomb but, damn it, when that explosive goes off, it could take the entire world."

"I know," I whispered. "But there are certain things in my life that just happens. I don't want you to assume that everything I do is caused by something else," I declared. "It's just like the reason I'm here. Dr. Reynolds found out that Vlad and I have started dating and she automatically assumed that I'm in syndrome. Couldn't I just fell in love with Vlad? Is that too much to assume?"

"Yes," she declared. "He raped you Danny. Do you understand that? You said don't and he continued. You are a child and he is a grown man. It doesn't happen naturally."

"It happened for one week and one at a time for a few weeks after that," I defended. "I have to admit if he had done so continually, things would be vastly different but he didn't! I was allowed to stay at home while I had to serve him. Then everything changed when he disappeared for a couple weeks. I wondered where he was and when he showed back up I wanted him to stay. But I was still in denial so I just went about my life as he continued to rape me. He was softer this time, though. He didn't want to hurt me.

"He loved me, even back then and then the King happened. I nearly died defeating the guy who sucked us inside the Ghost Zone but Vlad started giving me energy—his energy. I'm certain I wouldn't be here if he didn't do that and I know I would have died if someone didn't pull me out of that suit. He released me," I said, lowering my voice. I looked her in the eye. "Do you know what that means to him? To have possession of a bitch and then set her free. It's unheard of in his time of doing that and now he wants to change for us." I placed my hands on my stomach. "He's willing to turn a new leaf and change his ways for his daughter and the love of his life. I'm the love of his life. I can't just turn away from that."

"But you're not in syndrome," she said, her voice sarcastic. "You could leave him at any time but you can't turn away from that?"

"Are you married," I asked her.

"Yes," she answered.

"And you have children, yes, with your husband," I continued.

"That's correct," she answered again.

"Let's just pretend that everyone in your life is telling you that your husband is no good for you and perhaps he is a little naughty every once and a while and even in his past, he wasn't a model man. You have a baby on the way and your family is telling you that this child is influencing you and you must get rid of them both. How would you react and don't you dare spin your life into your romanticized version of my life!"

"I guess I see your point," she replied, "but I'm not advising you to get rid of your baby. I know about that only because of the other doctors, but the point is that I would never ask you to throw her away. She should be the motivation to leave Vlad."

"I will be motivated to leave her father," I asked incredulously.

"When you realize that if he could hurt you, a child and realize what he could do to your child, you will leave. I guarantee it."

O_O

I saw Dr. Reynolds after the quack and she took me off three of my prenatal medications. She told me I may be up for nomination to remove another four but for now, I was taking about nine prenatal medications. It was ridiculous. However, like I planned, I went back to the house. It was still empty, more than an hour later. I was starting to grow worrisome. Was Vlad okay?

The house was very small so I covered every corner of our home very quickly. The living room was very organized and ultimately left the same way I left it. Our bedroom was the same way. The two bedrooms were still empty because we didn't know what to do with them and the kitchen was empty. Where could he be?

I walked down the hall after checking our room again but I stopped just shy of the kitchen. That door was never there before! I opened the door to find a set of stairs leading down into the unknown portion of the house. I knew where they came from. Everything was purple.

Well, it wasn't a lab thank God. It was an office. Vlad had a hardwood desk and some filing cabinets. A massive bookshelf was filled with books. I walked over to the desk. It was well organized but then again, it's exactly what I expected. I picked up a photo in a golden frame. It was a picture of me, strangely. I didn't recognize from where this was taken. As far as I know, I've never paused for Vlad to take a picture.

I put the frame down and picked up another one, this one shot in landscape format. I knew this picture. It was my ultrasound. Lilly was so tiny, measuring in at 3 and three quarters of an inch. She was smaller for her developmental size, which is four to five inches according to Dr. Reynolds. She was also smaller, weighing a little over two ounces. Her shape was visible through the ultrasound but Dr. Reynolds couldn't see the identifying details. I could count every finger and every toe. I could see the tiny hairs growing in eyelashes and her eyebrows. Vlad had told me he saw the same thing. Vlad denied being able to determine sex but he's just in denial. I rubbed my finger over her tiny form, seeing perfectly the lack of a penis.

I put the print out of the ultrasound back on his desk and picked up a clipboard. It had statists and the such on it. I didn't understand a word of it but I know it from the work I've done in the Division. I've handed both Carrie and Julie print offs like this before but I never understood a lick of it. I'm terrible at math, you know!

I placed the clipboard back on his desk and opened up the two bucket-drawers. They had various objects but I didn't sort through them. I opened up his pull out drawer and it had the usual items: pens, pencils, whiteout, a contact book, a date book. However, another item inside surprised me. Situated near the front at an easy to reach location was a leather bound dossier. I've also seen these. Every presidential candidate gets one long before he's forced to face the voters.

I pulled the dossier out and my curiosity got the best of me. I wasn't snooping, per say, I was just looking around. However, I would be violating Vlad's privacy if I opened this book. I didn't care, though. I had to know who he was studying. I slipped the binding over the bulk of the leather cover. I opened the book to find several paper folders. In the front of the lives Vlad was studying was a woman by the name of Cassidy McMillion. She was a beautiful woman from Seattle, Washington.

I glanced through everything that Vlad had collected about the mystery woman. I tried to tell myself that maybe he was trying to replace someone at the office but the careers of these people were too broad and they were all women. Their looks were different but they all were from the same age group. Cassidy was twenty-three years old. Four of them were twenty-one years old. All of them were under the age of twenty-five. A lump formed in my throat. Exactly what was Vlad doing?

O_O

It was a little after eight when I felt him enter into the one-mile zone. The closer he got, the more feeling I got. I picked up the dossier and walked out of his office. I'm not going to lie to him. Let's see if he lies to me.

Vlad walked in with two drivers, all carrying bags. "Vlad," I asked as he led the drivers back to one of the empty rooms.

"Just leave them here," Vlad instructed the drivers. "I need to speak to Daniel."

"Yes sir," one driver replied as the other nodded. Vlad led me to our room and the smile on his face was huge. "I'm sorry I wasn't here when you came over. The highway was pretty tight this evening."

"I wanted to talk to you," I replied, laying the dossier on our bed between us. "I found your office. It's nice but I also found this. Vlad, who are these girls?"

Vlad's smile disappeared and he took a deep breath. "They're no one," Vlad replied. "I had a plan back before the King. It was stupid of me and now I realize that. I promise you, that plan is dead."

"Before the King," I said, my eyebrows furrowing. "So this was going on when I was still…"

"Yes," Vlad answered, his voice soft. "You were still my bitch when I thought this up. That was my plan, actually. It's no secret, Daniel, that I was getting impatient. I'm still not satisfied being so low on your priorities but I can't do anything about that now. You own me now. I can't ask you to do anything. You call the shots."

"Hey," I said, putting my hand on his. "You own me too," I said softly, "and not in the way as you did before. You are my number two priority. The town is way down that list!" I pulled him into me, kissing him passionately. It seemed to get his attention. "Our baby is number one to me. You are number two, Sam and Tucker are number three, and Jazz, Mom and Dad are number four. The town is number five. It doesn't even matter to me if it's hurting you."

Vlad laid his hand on my thigh, holding me. "You separate it. I know that your family is number one and the town is number two. I'm not even in that list."

"You are only second to our daughter," I replied. I placed my hand on his cheek. "I have to admit I was scared you were out collecting another bitch. I thought I was going to have to tell you rocker, center, stay."

"What," Vlad laughed, looking into my eyes finally.

"It's something Mom Number Three used to say," I chuckled. "When someone is going a little crazy, you tell them to get their rocker, put it in the middle of the road and keep it there."

Vlad laughed, pulling me into his arms. I laid my head over his shoulder, nestled into his neck. We sat embraced in each other's arms for a few minutes. Finally, I pulled out of his embrace, coming to my knees. I started kissing him, leaning him back to the bed. Vlad came onto of me, phasing my clothes off me. I done the same thing, our skin touching. I leaned further into his kiss, taking in his taste.

"I love you," I whispered, moaning in his mouth.

"I love you, too," Vlad replied. Vlad started kissing down my skin, stopping at my neck. He flipped me over and my back arched. I wanted this. I needed this.

Vlad's hands slid between my thighs, bringing me to a kneeling position. He kissed my neck, making me comfortable. He gently slid in and I moaned in pleasure.

My heart raced in my throat and I couldn't catch my breath. We had consummated our love again and I felt great as always. The last moment entered into my mind, a smile coming to my lips as I realized that it was the first time I called out his. Then I screamed out in pain.

"I'm so sorry," Vlad declared as I climbed out of the bed. It didn't really hurt, I was just unprepared.

"What was that," I demanded, rubbing my butt. It was nothing like the pain he'd put me through before he changed. It's just that I was really surprised a moment of such pleasure could end in pain.

"I accidently shot ectoplasm through my penis," Vlad said, a little bashful. "When you said my name, I got excited. I didn't mean to!"

"It's nothing," I replied, rubbing the spot. It still wasn't healed but the pain was fading away.

Vlad's smile returned, "You said my name! At the highest point of pleasure, it was my name that you said!"

"Of course," I replied. "Who else's name would I scream at a moment like that?"

"I don't care whose name you could have screamed. I just care that it was mine that you screamed."

"I love you," I replied, walking back over. I sat down gently, afraid of agitating it before it healed. "You're the one I love."

Vlad kissed me quickly. He stood up and started to do a gig towards the bathroom. I laughed for a moment but it became increasingly hard to watch. Finally, I covered my eyes, laughing, "Stop that! That's disgusting. If you ever do that again, I may leave you!"

"Oh, come on, Daniel. Do the gig with me," Vlad said, his voice hopping levels as he continued to hop. I lifted up my hand, shooting a low volt beam.

"We're even," I laughed.

Vlad walked over to me, bringing me to my feet. This time, he started dancing with me. I felt a little silly dancing naked but it was my house and the drivers left five minutes ago. I joined him as Vlad began to hum a tune. As we danced, images of my future with Sam disappeared from my mind. This was my new future.

O_O

I woke up the next morning and got dressed. I wanted to go back over to Vlad's before Sam and Tucker came over. I didn't have any obligations that I couldn't do at home at night or with Sam and Tucker so I wouldn't have any reason to go over there this evening. Also, the chances of me getting away were stacked against me. I don't know what I'm going to do Friday for French classes. I need to do them in the middle of the afternoon so my powers can have time to build back up. Maybe I can talk Vlad into canceling Friday's lesson.

I flew to the house and took my shower there. I didn't want to risk waking up Mom or anyone else. Vlad was already up, eating a bowl of oatmeal and reading the paper. The smell didn't make me sick; it actually gave me a craving. Lilly wanted a bowl of oats with real apple slices and cinnamon. I exited the bathroom and took the last of the oatmeal from the pan. I used my ectoplasm to seep into the bowl, warming each individual oat.

"Interesting use of your power, Daniel," Vlad replied from the corner of his paper. I picked up the sports section, turning it to the comics. I was surprised to find different comics along with only a few of our original. I looked to Vlad's front page and found it to be the Chronicle.

"You didn't subscribe to this, did you," I asked in horror.

"Yeah," Vlad said, a little confused. "Why?"

"Because Tucker's Dad, my second dad, owns the Angle," I declared. Dad Number Two would kill me for subscribing to another paper.

"So," Vlad replied, still not getting the point.

"Obviously you've never had to worry about competition," I remarked, my voice displaying my unease. "It'd be like trying to buy a product from another company and you offer the same thing."

"Oh," Vlad replied, folding the paper in half. "I didn't think of that. Let's see, I can subscribe to the Angle as well. I just picked up a paper from the newstands."

"Yeah, well, it's very important for me to only subscribe to the Angle!"

"Fine. I don't really see the point, though."

"It's very important to my dad number two, though, so it's important to me."

"I think newspapers are tomato, tamato if you ask me," Vlad brushed it away. "If you read one, you've read them all."

"Don't do that," I interrupted, speaking over his last sentence. My eyes widened as I looked him in the eye. "I'm allergic, remember!"

"And I told you that you were cured," Vlad declared. He stood up and my stomach went into knots, "I'm going to settle this once and for all."

"Vlad," I said, panicked. "Let's not do anything rash, here. I am allergic."

"No you're not," Vlad declared, walking back over with a can of tomato sauce. Oh, God, help me through this. Vlad opened the can with his finger, scooping up a little on the tip. When Vlad moved it towards me, I scooted back. "Daniel," Vlad said sternly.

"No," I objected. "I'm allergic, Vlad. I know it doesn't make sense but it's the truth."

"Our powers heal everything," Vlad declared, "It's healed allergens as well."

"Then how about you try your allergens," I stated.

"Because I've never had any," Vlad replied.

"So you have no idea how this'll react," I asked, terrified. I was hoping he'd at least saw it in action.

"I know exactly how this'll react," Vlad assured me. "You'll taste a tomato for the first time!"

"Or I'll die because my boyfriend doesn't believe me," I said.

"Don't be ridiculous," Vlad tried brushing my fears aside. "If for some reason you do have a reaction, I'll heal you. But you won't, I'm sure."

Finally, I leaned in to him. I licked his finger in anxiety. Nothing happened. "Hey," I said. I cleared the film from my throat. "I'm not having a reaction."

"I told you," Vlad replied but his eyes weren't in synch with his words. His brow was a little furrowed, something obviously bothering him.

"What's the matter," I asked, furrowing my brow as well.

"Try another bit," he replied, grabbing his spoon from his oatmeal. "A bigger bite."

"Okay," I replied, my mood returning to its high note. I scooped up a big bite and swallowed it. Within the minute, the spoon clattered from my hand as my throat started to swell. I wasn't scared because I spend time in another form without oxygen. I was just surprised.

"I was afraid of that," Vlad said, "but damn! Why doesn't our powers cure the allergens?" He phased his hand through my throat, the swelling disappearing.

"Probably because our blood doesn't change, it just converts," I answered. "Have you ever studied your blood under a microscope compared to a previous sample?"

"No," Vlad answered. Well, that explains a lot. "Why?"

"Everything in our body changes except for our blood when we're turned half ghost," I answered. "Even when we change from one form to another everything but our blood changes. If it did, we theorize, we'd be different people. Instead, we're just half ghost."

"You kids have done a lot of research," Vlad said, impressed.

"Who else was going to," I asked. "It's always just been Sam, Tucker and I. We're all we have ever known. We trust each other with everything. I don't imagine I would have kept this secret from them even if they weren't there. I would have told them, despite what I tell myself."

"I'm sorry I didn't believe you," Vlad replied, hugging close to me. I still ate my oats while Vlad planted a kiss on my head. "After you eat, I want to show you what I did last night."

"It's not a choreograph is it, because if it is, let me be the first to say to stick to your day job."

Vlad laughed along with me, "No. It is my day job." He kissed my head again and left the room. "Come to the bedroom when you're done."

"Okay," I said as I ate my breakfast.

O_O

Vlad was waiting in the hall when I arrived. Vlad walked behind me, covering my eyes. "What," I laughed. "You'd better not messed up my bedroom. If you've put mirrors in there…"

"You're going to love it," Vlad declared with a laugh. "I promise!"

He started pushing me in what I'd assumed was the wrong direction. I could have sworn he was pushing me back the way I came but I didn't say anything. Finally, a door opened and he removed his hands. I gasped.

It was the wrong color! Blue walls, a baby bed with blue liners, a changing table, a rocking chair and a dresser chest. I was smiling but I was going to either make Lilly live with the blue or change everything. "It's beautiful but I swear, honey, I'm having a girl."

"No," Vlad declared. "It's going to be a boy, I can feel it."

And the girl I've saw says otherwise. "It's beautiful," I declared, turning towards him. I kissed him, thanking him for all his hard work.

"See," Vlad said, turning towards the door. Was there something in that direction? A recliner sat just a few inches from the door, "you can sit here if you want to watch him sleep or I can when I want to watch you rock him." He kneeled down, tipping his fingers to some books in a small bookshelf beside the recliner, "I even have some reading material if you think you might not know what you're doing." The shelf was solid wood with a rich-brown finish. It sat against the wall while the recliner sat catty-corner, allowing the door to swing behind it. The shelf was high enough but not so high, so that it could double as a table.

"It's perfect," I replied, kissing him. Lilly could do with the blue. Her Daddy put a lot of effort into this.

"I knew you'd love it," Vlad said, smiling. "Here, try it out! Have a seat!"

Vlad moved out of the way so that I could take the seat. It was very comfortable. "I love it," I replied, smiling at him. "You were right."

"Finally," Vlad laughed. "I haven't been right in a long time."

I stood up and walked over to the rocker. I could see myself rocking my daughter to sleep here. I could see us building a life here. It was perfect.

O_O

This time I was home when Sam and Tucker came over. They still beat my parents getting up and we decided to do something for Mom. When Mom came down to make breakfast, she discovered it already made. I dissipated the ectoplasm before she could see what was keeping it warm. The hot plate, which was what the food was sitting in, couldn't keep it as warm as my powers. Mom just doesn't have to know that.

"Surprise," Tucker said, waving to the food.

"Kids," Mom declared happily. "This was so sweet. Thank you!"

"We just wanted to do something nice, didn't we Sam," I said.

"That's right," Sam replied. "Things have been so weird lately. We just wanted to show you that we still cared."

Mom hugged Tucker, Sam and I individually. "Thanks," she replied as she released me.

"We have somewhere to be," I replied. "Enjoy your breakfast. We've already ate."

"Oh," Mom replied, her smile faltering a bit. I know she wanted to eat with us but we were going back to the King's castle. We voted and I lost.

"We'll eat with you tomorrow," I replied. "It's just that we need to go somewhere now. We'll see you later." I placed a kiss on her cheek, hoping to boost her mood better. It seemed to work.

O_O

"I'm in heaven," Sam replied as the archbishop led us through these large double doors. Steven had summoned him when Sam replied what she wanted to see. Tucker and I on the other hand stared in a mixture of shock and horror. Thousands of books lined the walls. It's like something straight out of a nightmare: when homework attacks!

"Who could have so many books and not a single computer," Tucker cried. "Technology has faded from this realm!"

"No," I said, my voice dull. "Technology wasn't even born when this realm fell."

"That is correct, sirs," the archbishop replied. "Our peoples have been in slumber for more than a thousand years. Our realm has not been upgraded to fit your needs."

"Don't worry about it," Sam replied. "It will."

"You're damn straight it will," Tucker replied. "My people will not hunger for technology and be denied by their king!"

Sam and I chuckled at Tucker's decree. He was one hundred percent meaning it. That's what we call big-head. That's when the straps of his beret get a little tighter.

"Actually, sir, you are not King. Only Danny is, sir. You are only a noble," the archbishop replied quietly. "Your title has yet to be determined by King Danny."

"Just Danny," I retorted. "And what's available?"

"Anything you wish, sire," he replied. "King Pariah had dukes, counts and barons."

I was about to ask my question when Sam replied, "It's in order of power. Dukes and Duchesses are more powerful while Counts and Countesses are next in line. Barons and baronesses are the lowest rank of nobility and Baronets are the lowest a noble can go."

"Okay," I replied. "Tucker and Sam are Duke and Duchess of the Ghost Zone."

Sam laughed, "It doesn't work that way, mister. You have to assign a duchy."

Tucker laughed as I struggled to hold mine. "What's a du-duchy," I laughed.

"It's a laid out parcel of land that a Duke or Duchess rules," Sam said, glaring at us. "And we'll call it Duke-y."

"But's it's pronounced duchy," the archbishop replied as Tuck and I died of laughter.

"But because two of your rulers are idiots, we'll call it duke-y," Sam declared as Tucker and I fell in the floor laughing.

Sam grabbed both of our ears, pulling us up. Tucker started crying out 'ow' while I just said it simply.

"I need to find something to punish him with," Sam said, meant to keep it to herself. "That's enough! Thank you, Archbishop. You may be dismissed."

"Thank you, Duchess Sam. You would prefer Sam, correct, because Samantha," the archbishop began.

"No," Sam cut off, "Sam will suffice!"

"As you wish, milady," he said, bowing. "Duke Tucker, King Danny. Good day," he bowed. I waved him off, my cheeks burning from embarrassment. He ghosted away.

"Wow," I cried as he vanished. "That's weird!"

"I could spend an eternity in here," Sam said as she spun around. "I love this place!"

"You'd better be careful," I replied. "You just may."

"I didn't say wish," Sam barked, floating up to graze at the titles.

"You don't need to," I replied. "Besides, that's not what I was talking about. Time moves slowly in here. Tuck, set an alarm for three."

"Three," Tucker whined. "Why not six? We don't need to go before then, do we?"

"Look at her," I cried, pointing to Sam. She had a handful of books already. "It'll take her an hour to put that away!"

"Oh," Tucker replied. "Well, how about five!"

"You want to eat, don't you. You seemed to enjoy that dinner last time."

"Four then," Tucker changed the time again.

"That's why it's at three," I replied. "You sometimes take two hours to eat!"

"Okay," Tucker replied. He pulled out his PDA and set the alarm.

"Hey, Danny," Sam cried. I floated over to her, using nature instead of powers. I was in my human form so I was the ghost here. "Carry these over to the table!"

I took her books as she asked. She started loading up more books.

Tucker found something he could do. He was preparing the place to be wired. He had a dozen people in that library and following him as he made notes and planned to add electricity. However, his task made me develop one. I left the library, setting my own alarm clock on my phone. I didn't want to lose track of time.

I was lost. I didn't know which way I was going and that bothered me. How was I going to lead a successful investigation if I couldn't find my way. I wish I had a map.

Suddenly, a red line developed in front of me. I jumped back and the line was where I landed. I turned around but the line wasn't behind me. I took a step back, keeping my eyes trained on the ground. An extension appeared. I took a step forward and a piece vanished. It's leading me to some place.

I followed the red line until it lead me underground. The place was enormous. There were large living quarters, maybe ten in this one area. One room could fit in my room three times though. I passed through that floor and on the next deck, the rooms doubled. Six of these quarters could fit in my room. Still yet, on the next floor down, twelve of those rooms could fit into my room.

"What are you doing here… my lord? I apologize, I didn't recognize you," a male servant replied.

"Where are we," I asked.

"We are in the serf's quarters, sir. I mistook you for a serf," he replied.

"What the hell is a serf," I asked, confused.

"Slave, sir," he replied. My eyes widened. "Some are from other dimensions but most are from the original castle. See, my lord, when people from King Pippin's reign dies, they transfer here. There are still generations appearing, but none are royalty."

"Why do we have slaves," I declared. "Slavery is immoral!"

"Sir, it was a common practice during King Pippin's rule. These are just the times. It is not time to update the castle."

"Tucker is up there installing internet," I declared. "We should at least abolish slavery!"

"It is your kingdom, sire; you may do as you wish," he bowed his head. "But it's not morally wrong, pardon my bluntness. It's a social status."

I turned around and the line was gone, as expected. I went back up into the castle, passing each floor. I wondered if these floors were of slaves too or was it other quarters for the free servants. Shoot, I don't know where I'm going. A line appeared. That could be helpful.

I followed the line until it lead me to the back of the castle. It was like an information room. I opened the door, walking inside. A man sat at a desk.

"Excuse me," I said, stopping at his desk. "Can I ask you some questions?"

"Of course, my Lord King. I am Anastasius, record keeper. How may I serve you?"

"I'd like to know how many slaves there are and what other kind of jobs happen here," I replied.

"Ah," he replied. I wasn't even going to try that name. He'll be record-guy. He twisted his wrist and a book ghosted in his hands. I reacted a bit but pulled myself together. "There are one-million and forty thousand serfs, sire." He started flipping through the pages. "We have the Baronets and the religious community. The only nobles are Sam and Tucker."

"Isn't Baronet a low class," I asked, confused.

"These are the previous Nobles whom King Pariah removed their nobility. They are the lowest rank of nobility because they were removed from high standing."

"What jobs do the slaves have," I asked.

"They are assigned duties to perform from rebirth, my Lord King. I may produce you a list if you so wish," he replied.

"I so wish," I said, my voice hard.

He produced a list from ghosting again, handing me the piece of paper. It wasn't green or any other ectoplasm color. It must be real paper. "Would you be requiring anything further, my Lord King?"

I thought about asking him about difference in his title for me but I decided that I probably didn't want to know. "No. That will be all."

I walked out of the room, glancing at the list he produced. It had random positions listed—cook, waiter, maid, the usual. However, there was also steelworker, stone worker, carpenter, and other occupational titles listed. It didn't really answer my question. I guess the next thing to do would be… another line showed up.

This line led me out of the castle. I transformed before I left the protection of the castle. I floated along the boundless Zone as the line hovered on thin air. Finally, it led me to an outside door of the castle, low on the building. I phased through the door, following the line until it disappeared. A man stood there.

"Sire," he addressed, bowing. "How may I help you?"

"I would like to observe your treatment of these people," I replied. "Would that be okay?"

"Of course, sire. It would be my pleasure. The serfs have been cooped up for some time so you must forgive their rowdiness. Please do not punish them for forgetting their places."

"I'm not here to punish," I replied. "I want to protect these people. I think slavery is wrong."

"Sire," he asked, confused. "Slavery is a part of this culture. These people are not abused, I assure you. We demanded servitude until death. They've done that. Some of these weren't even slaves when they came here. Only those in the dungeons are kept in their place."

"Dungeon," I asked, confused. "Where's that?" Another line appeared, "Not now!"

"Sire, the castle is only answering your questions. It only appears when you need to go someplace."

"Oh," I replied. I kind of knew that. "I'd like to observe your workers. Where are you making them work and what are you making them do?"

"Right away, sire," he replied.

"Danny," I cut in.

"The serfs are this way. Follow me." I followed him until I heard the sounds of labor. Steel clinking, wood tools scraping, and hammers swinging came to my ears. He pushed open a door and I followed him into where they were working. These people were making things from hand the way they done in the early centuries. The man nodded to me and walked away. I watched how some laughed and kidded with each other. Every one of them were males.

I walked over to one of the stone workers, "What are you doing?"

"Sire," he said. He fell to his knees at my feet. I backed away from him.

"Stop that," I declared. "Danny will be fine. No one needs to grovel."

He stood up but he kept his knees bent. He purposely tried to be shorter than I was. This is ridiculous.

"I am preparing a replacement for one of the pillars. It has deteriorated over the years and I am working on one of the replacements," he replied, keeping his head down.

"It looks good," I complimented him. "Were you a slave from before or were you born into this world?"

"I was a slave from before," he answered. "My son, though, was born into it." He put his hand on another man. They looked to be the same age.

"What did you use to do," I asked him.

"I was a shepherd," he answered. "We were freed when I was a baby. I came to work for my father."

"Is there a garden here," I asked. "Or a field?"

"Yes, sir," he answered. "They are overcrowded there, though. Land in the Ghost Zone is minimal, sir."

"Okay," I replied. "Do you like the work?"

"Of course, sir," he replied. Does he think I'm stupid? I'm not asking to have my ass kissed, I just want the truth.

"Be truthful," I said softly. "You will never be punished for your opinion here."

He sighed, "I can't be honest, sir. I have no idea what kind of ruler you are."

"Reluctant," I smiled at him but he was from too long ago. His eyes told me he got what I was trying to do but only from the cultural booster. "Listen, I defeated the King not because I wanted his throne but because he threatened to overtake my world. I'm still half human and Sam and Tucker are full human. I live in a world where my leaders abolished slavery one hundred and forty years ago."

"There are no slaves in your world," he asked, his eyes lit up.

"No," I said sadly. "There are slaves but it is illegal. I'm afraid that even there, some get away with it."

His smile remained, "But at least some of your people have seen the evil in its practice. My father was badly abused in his life."

"Your boss said that no one was hurt here," I asked. "Is that correct? Remember, no one will be punished."

"Not since we've awakened again," the father replied. "Before, King Pariah would order it to be done or the slave master would be whipped. He has been patient, actually."

"I will be reviewing the work orders and updating the tools," I replied. I'm gonna need to sell another baseball card or two to buy one million power tools!

O_O

The red line led me to the Dungeon when I was finished with my last task. I would return when no one was watching to give my final grade but for now, I needed to see the real prisoners. Were they bad or just someone he had thrown into jail? It didn't take me long to determine the answer when they started banging on the bars and pulling against the chains. I believe these were the prisoners placed in here from Pippin's time. I believe they're from the forbidden zone.

"Sire," another one of my subjects greeted me. Note to self, have staff meeting and introduce myself. "How may I help you?"

"Who are these prisoners," I asked.

"Well, sire, they are the enemies of the castle. We have freed all the prisoners King Pariah locked away," he informed me.

"So all these guys are evil," I asked.

"No sir," he told me. "Evil is too broad a description…"

"Conquering," I corrected.

"Yes sir," he replied. I groaned out. I hated that conquering and non-conquering stuff. The scope of evil and good is too broad and sometimes the same ghost can fall under both. So the Ghost Zone is adamant about labeling ghosts as either conquering or non-conquering. The only ghost I have ever seen labeled, formally, as something different is Clockwork.

"Can I lock anyone in here," I asked, cracking a smile.

"Of course, sire," he addressed. "If you'd like to wage war, though, you would need to speak to your advisors. They will tell you if it's suitable and if we can do it financially."

"We have currency," I asked, confused.

"Well, sir, I meant resourcefully," he amended. "Currency has always been about resources so ghostly currency is power levels."

"Oh," I replied. "Well, thank you so much. Keep up the good work!"

I walked out of there, a little quicker than I normally would exit a place. I was stupid! I can't lock Box Ghost away in here! No matter how tempting the idea may be.

O_O

I did several swipes around the castle, meeting with slaves and talking with them. Most seemed content but few spoke about wishing to do something other than what they were doing. Even fewer spoke of having the freedom to switch jobs if they wanted. I saw no harm in allowing that to be granted so I made my way back to mister I can't pronounce his name so I'll call him record keeper.

"Record keeper," I addressed, walking into the room.

"My Lord King," he greeted me, "you require something further."

"Yes," I said. "Can you and who can if you can't make a change of parliament?"

"If you write up the law in your own handwriting, I can pass it into legislation," he informed me.

"Paper please," I asked.

He ghosted a piece of paper and pencil to me. I was going to use my ecto-energy but oh well. I positioned the paper.

_Slavery is hereby abolished and the use inside this castle is outlawed. All former slaves may work in the field of their choosing. All persons have the right to move on to other locations but, of course, they are welcomed here. This was their home then, it's their home now and it will forever be their home._

I handed the paper back to the record keeper. He took the piece of paper and it vaporized away. "Anything else, my Lord King."

"Yeah," I said, my voice going hard. "Why do you call me that?"

"Would you prefer that I call your husband queen or would you prefer him to be the tantamount king?"

"I don't have a husband," I declared.

"We honor the union of the Tantamount King Vlad and you, our Lord King Danny."

"But why is Vlad even a part of this," I asked, confused. "I never asked for him to rule. That could make him lose all the progress he's made."

"With the union, it comes automatically, sire. Two ghosts in a union will act as a marriage. It would not be the same if you were united with a human. Duchess Sam and Duke Tucker are special occurrences."

"So there's nothing I can do to remove Vlad from Kinghood," I asked, confused.

"Yes," he replied. "If the union were to break, then he would lose his title. You are the high lord."

"That's it," I declared, happily. "Not Lord King, High King. High King and Tantamount King!"

"As you wish, High King."

"Thank you," I replied. I walked out of the room and the line greeted me. Uh, I didn't ask to go anywhere? Oh, what the heck. I'll follow it anyway.

It led me to a high floor in the back of the castle. Most of the rooms where we were are towards the middle of the castle while the activity rooms, like the library, were in the front of the castle. Many of the worksites I visited were in the back of the castle. The line stopped at a high arch. I opened the door to find a hallow area.

"Welcome, High King Danny," Steven greeted me. "Welcome to the worship hall."

"This is the church," I said, realizing. "Why would I want to come here? I don't think I do."

"Did the castle bring you," Steven asked me.

"Yes," I answered. "I'm not sure what it thinks I wanted. Should I just leave?"

"Allow me to give you a tour of the church, your majesty. Perhaps we can make the discovery together, with the help of God."

"Do you believe he's still out there, somewhere? I mean, you're dead. Doesn't that count for something?"

"It means everything," Steven replied. "The lord promised a place to rest while the world continued. While most of us anticipated waiting with God, I now think that God has suspended us here to wait our time out."

"My grandparents call it the waiting room for heaven," I chuckled, "but I do wonder about there being a grand design or is there something else out there, guiding us. There are many gods."

"Indeed," he agreed, "but only one Lord God. He controls everything we do. He guides us, even in death. We're just waiting until he's completed his master plan."

"I used to believe in God and a part of me still does but there's just so many questions," I admitted quietly. "I wonder what kind of God would allow a mixture of the stages of life. Is this his doing or someone else's? Was this even within his power?"

"Everything is within God's power, sire. God just has a strange way of working. We're not meant to understand God's plan. All we can do is follow the path that he creates, just like you followed the one the castle made. Follow the path God creates through the fire of life."

I smiled at him. Perhaps that's what I've always needed. A spiritual leader.

O_O

Steven gave me a tour of the church and I was about to give up when I heard crying. "Wait," I cried. "What's that?"

"It's the nursery," he answered. "Why, sire?"

"You guys know about Vlad but you don't know about my baby," I asked, surprised.

"I'm certain Anastasius knew about it," he replied, a little surprised. "He tells us minimal things. Only what's necessary. When you changed your name to High King, he informed us about the Tantamount King."

"Oh," I replied. "May I see the children? That's what I wanted to know, I'm certain of it. What will happen to Lilly?"

He pushed open the door, "She will be cared for by the very best. Our female children are raised to be fine young ladies. If she so wishes, she may become a nun of the church. The nuns care for the children as they grow. Your daughter will be princess, crown princess since she is the eldest. She would ascend to the throne should anything happen. When she weds, she will become the high Duchess, even above Sam. However, by current law, the first to wed will have that title. Since you are already married, if anything were to happen to you, Tantamount King Vlad would ascend the throne."

"What kind of studies would she receive," I asked. "Are there any children her age?"

"Children of the Ghost Zone grow slowly," he answered. "She will advance all these children here. Either these children are the children of full ghosts or are children who didn't make it to adulthood, whether that was a failed pregnancy or a failed childhood. She should have many playmates. She will receive studies in how to be a woman. You may change that curriculum to fit your period."

"I think I can take it from here," I replied. "Thank you for the tour."

"Anytime, sire," Steven said, bowing his head. I nodded as well and he exited the room. I watched how the nuns interacted with the children. They were currently in lessons but they just looked too young to me. Steven did say that the children progress slowly in the Ghost Zone. Are they older than they appear?

I left the group of children that appeared to be no older than one. As I went further into the room, I came across children who looked older. Children who looked like they were five were receiving studies in things that I myself hadn't received.

"Class," one of the nuns announced. "This is High King Danny," she addressed me. "Say hello."

"Hello, your majesty," her group of students replied. Their voices were so clear and seasoned. They spoke like adults but they looked to be children.

"How old are these kids," I asked, watching how they resumed their studies.

"They're not children, my lord," the nun replied. "Some are actually older than you are, sire."

"Then why do they appear so young," I asked. I could see how they could be older. They had a sense of responsibility that resembled my friends and mine.

"These pupils are humans who died at a young age. Some were miscarriages and some were young children who died. Children of ghosts and ghost children age very slowly, sire. Ghosts are not meant to be creatures of change but for some reason, the souls who departed before maturity continue to grow until they reach it."

"Interesting," I replied. "Has anyone ever reached maturity," I asked.

"Of course," she replied. "All miscarriages reach maturity within one hundred years. It takes five years of development to equal one year by human standards."

"Interesting," I repeated. "Thank you," I replied.

"Any time, sire," she replied. She bowed her head and continued to teach her class. I walked around the room for a few minutes but I didn't want to bother them anymore. Time to go back to Sam and Tucker and see what they've gotten into.

O_O

"Where did that line come from," Tucker asked me when I walked in.

"If you think of a place you want to go, the line will lead you straight there. I don't know if it will continue forever but I don't think so. I've never seen it anywhere else," I replied.

"No sire," one of Tucker's helpers replied. "When you no longer need it's assistance, you would have to ask. For instance, if I may, I'm going to the kitchen. Of course, I know where that is. But if I were to get a little lost, I would say, 'Direct me to kitchen, industrial.'" The line appeared. "I may also say 'direct me to kitchen, dining' or just 'direct me to dining room.'"

"Okay," Tucker replied. "Direct me to dining room."

I chuckled. I'm pretty sure the line didn't know this was just a test. It probably was leading there anyway.

"Hey, Sam," I called. She had disappeared behind all the books I had put on the table for her and I'm pretty sure more books had made their way there. "Do you want to join us for lunch?"

"Can't," Sam called. "You can bring me something, though."

"Okay," I replied.

"Let's bring her a roast beef sandwich," Tucker giggled.

"I heard that," Sam retorted from behind the stacks. I laughed, following the line back to the kitchen. I hadn't been to the dining room, though, but it can't be too far.

The line led us to an enormous room filled with tables. It wasn't like a cafeteria, it was like a restaurant. I had no doubt, though, which table was reserved for the nobles. At the front of the room was an elevated section of floor with about ten tables. The same width of the room could hold thirty or more. There was spacious room between the tables and a yellow rug lined the elevation. In the center of the room was an enormous table, at least the size of three of the others, situated on a round red rug. A long, thin red tablecloth hung in the middle of the table, a set of candles positioned in the center.

I walked over to the chair that set in the very back of the table, facing the other tables. The chair undoubtedly belonged to Pariah himself. It was enormous—like ridiculously enormous. "I'm king," I replied, "so there's no harm in dissolving this chair." I touched the handle of the chair and focused on bringing out my energy. Finally, I charged up enough that the chair collapsed in a heap of ashes.

"Whoa," Tucker cried, jumping back. He was too close to the edge of the elevated floor and fell to his butt. "When did you learn to do that?"

"What," I asked. "Ectoplasmic energy is quite hot!"

"That hot, though," Tucker declared, coming back to his feet.

"My High King. Duke Tucker," a servant addressed. It was another male. I swear I will put an end to this sexism. The only females I see working is in stereotypical jobs. "What shall I get you, my lords."

"Whadda got," Tucker asked, clasping his hands and rubbing them together.

"At the moment, sir, we don't have anything prepared but we may prepare anything of your desire."

"Do you have a menu," Tucker asked, furrowing his brow. I pulled on of the chairs from the table to where Pariah's chair once stood. I took a seat.

"Tucker," I replied. "It's just like at home. You ask them to prepare what you want and they make it. They don't have specialties."

"Oh," Tucker replied. "I'll have a rib eye steak with mashed potatoes and gravy and rolls made with cheese and bacon."

I smiled at him, unable to hide my humor at his order. "I'll have a bowl of baked apples, apple juice and an apple right now. Please make a plate to go for Sam. She likes vegetarian meals. Make up a stir fry with tofu as the protein and a glass of vegetable juice. I'll take it to her."

"Nonsense, sire. I will have a server deliver her lunch. Duke Tucker, shall you require something to drink?"

"I'll take a soda, Coke. Thanks," he replied.

"My pleasure, my lords. I will return shortly," he replied. He bowed again and walked away. I sighed out, growing tiresome of this bowing stuff. Tucker took a seat, sliding down.

"What's with the apples," Tuck asked. "I've never known you to have an apple obsession."

I chuckled nervously, "Just wanted one. I have no idea. Maybe it has something to do with my ghost powers."

"Maybe," Tucker replied. "You could be tasting an emotion and it tastes like apples. Who knows?"

"How is your progress coming along," I asked.

"Good," Tuck answered. "I'll have power in this castle before school begins next week." He groaned out. "Why do we even need to go to school? Why don't we just live here or at the headquarters?" I was about to respond when he continued, "Funny how we worked so hard to open headquarters and a month later, we have an entire realm that could double as a headquarters."

"Tucker," I finally said. "We go to school because it's important."

"Please," Tucker declared. "It's a waste of time. All it does is cause trouble. You getting in trouble for 'skipping' and then there are the classes we're separated. Do you know what the difference between life and death can be? One minute. One minute that we could be locked in a classroom and have no idea that you're fighting the next King of All Ghosts. The next Dan."

"I also have telepathy," I replied. "And humans even have this amazing invention called the cell phone. Perhaps you've heard of it!"

"Yeah, I've heard of it and have you ever heard of the nasty little condition called unconscious or 'too damn busy to actually call for help,'" Tucker retorted.

"Well, it's not like you two won't be huddled around that PDA every waking minute I'm not with you now," I replied, a little frustrated. It could spell big trouble for when I'm with Vlad. Hell, it could have already spelled big trouble.

"At night and when you go to fight a ghost, you bet your ass. But I'll have to find another way when we have different classes. My teachers wouldn't appreciate me looking at my PDA for the entire class. I'd hate to get physical with both guys."

"You be respectful," I said sternly. "We may be powerful in the eyes of the government but we still must not become rude. You wouldn't want to become the A-list, would you?"

"No," Tucker sighed, "but don't think I wouldn't raise hell if you were in danger."

"You guys worry too much," I replied. "I'm not in nearly as much trouble as it appears."

"Yeah, I'll remember that next time that Invincible guy comes around and sends two thousand ghosts instead of the one-five hundred."

"Fifteen hundred would have worked," I cracked a smile.

"I hope not," Tucker said, his eyes going wide. "If he gets more…"

"Whoa, whoa, whoa. Calm down. I was talking about the one-five thing. Fifteen hundred ghosts can't destroy me. No matter how powerful they are." I put my hand on his, hoping to put his mind at ease and not panic him further, "I hit my knees."

"Oh lord, have mercy," Tucker laughed. "They made a mistake there."

"You know it," I smiled. "Listen, Tucker, there are a million things in this world that can kill somebody and I'm no different. While I have lost so many that normal people have to worry about, I have enough enemies that make up for it. I can't promise you that I'll always be here and I know that I can't expect you two to always be here. But I know that we'll always be together, from now until kingdom come. I've seen it."

Tucker smiled at me weakly, my speech bringing his boosted attitude down a notch. It scared the hell out of me that I was going to lose them or that I was going to die. I don't fear death as much as I fear what they'll do after I die. Tucker is such an amazing hacker that I know if he wanted to break that code, he could in a heartbeat. That didn't occur to me until after the King but I know if he ever truly wanted to kill that code, he could do it like zapping a bug. There's nothing I could do to prevent them from becoming half ghost if they wanted.

What would happen in the event of my death? Would I be able to prevent them from becoming half ghost after I die? Would they want to become half ghost? Would Vlad do whatever he does to infect them after the event of my death? I'm certain they would never hurt themselves to join me but I do wonder if they would still attempt to become half ghost so they could at least be parallel with me.

"Danny," Tucker said, his voice soft, "Would you ever risk your life to save someone else or to stop a ghost?"

I took a breath, trying to find the right way to say this. "There are certain things that I must do, Tucker. As much as I hate to admit it, I know that one day, you too will feel this burden. I will always try to find a better way but… yeah." I looked him in the eye, "I would have given my life to make sure you guys lived if given the chance. I would have done it without a second thought."

"But why," Tucker cried. He wiped his eyes and I noticed the unshed tears. "You mean so much more than the lot of us. If we die, it just kills us. If you die, imagine how many lives are destroyed."

"Because I'm still human," I said, my voice going a bit higher than I intended. "I can't think of a world without you guys. I've tried to push you away, I've even thought about doing it again but every time I think of that world, life just isn't worth living. I want you guys to have a future that I don't have anymore. Do you remember our plans? Do you remember how we used to plan how I could go to Camp Canaveral, Sam could go to Harvard and you could go to MIT. We had it all planned out, we were going to live somewhere in between and use one of Mom and Dad's inventions to transport. We can't do that, Tucker. I can't do that!"

"Why not," Tucker asked. "I mean, I know we aren't going to separate places and you'd better know you're not going to space but why can't we pick a place where Sam can get her law degree, you can get your engineering degree, and I can get my computer technology degree."

"I can't even pass high school," I said, my voice low. "Do you believe I can leave this town alone for four years or more? Do you believe the ghosts will just decide that I can leave? I don't know how my future-self supposedly does it!"

"But he apparently does it," Tucker objected. "So it must somehow work."

A sad smile came to my lips as I remembered Sam telling me she was pregnant. Sam and Tucker only took two years away from home while I had another year to finish. Sam told me when she received her associates degree. I was so happy… and confused. I laughed aloud, remembering my future-self asking Sam when we had time to 'do that.'

"What," Tucker asked me.

"I'm just remembering one of my dreams. Sam didn't get her law degree until the kids were nearly grown. You and Sam finished college before I did and Sam told me that she was pregnant after the ceremony." I laughed again. "I asked her 'where'd that come from' twice and jokingly said, 'now, I know I didn't do that' on our third child's birth." I laughed again, this time a little longer. "I was really busy. I was juggling three-day classes and running back to Amity Park on the weekends."

"Three day classes," Tucker asked. "Why only three?"

"College is vastly different than high school," I explained. "You and Sam only have two classes. I took Friday classes and summer classes so I could finish four years in three. Apparently, I do it."

"I know you can," Tucker said, squeezing my hand. I noticed that my fingers toppled another which made me look down. "You really can't feel this?"

I pulled my hand out of his so I could show him, "I feel the finger cross another." I bunched together my index and middle fingers and then my ring and pinky fingers. "I don't feel the tightness or your hand. I feel the space disappearing."

"I'm sorry," Tucker replied. The door where the server departed opened again and another server, male, came in. He carried a platter above his head and when he arrived at our table, he lowered it in a fancy move. The platter sat about a foot above the table. In the blink of an eye, the food disappeared and reappeared in front of us. Okay, I'm impressed with the speed of that but where was my apple. In a bowl was an already sliced apple.

I grabbed one of the pieces and slipped it in my mouth. I closed my eyes as I savored the taste. Finally, I looked up to the server, "Has Sam's plate been delivered to her yet?"

"The Duchess's food is being delivered as we speak, sire."

"Thank you," I replied. I grabbed another bite of apple and munched on it.

"Dude," Tucker laughed, "if you dip that thing in something weird, I swear I'll die laughing."

_Tell him to hush up_, Lilly declared. _I don't like bad tasting food. The apple is perfect the way it is!_

"No thank you," I replied. "I just want the apple."

"I don't want you to," Tucker laughed some more. "I might think you're pregnant if it weren't for you're a guy."

When Tucker said the word pregnant, I spit out my apple. _Hey_, Lilly cried.

"I'm not pregnant," I declared. I know I reacted badly but thank God, Tucker doesn't know that ghost guys can in fact have babies.

"Dude," Tucker laughed. "I know it's impossible." He cracked a smile at me, "You haven't been sexually active as well." I didn't laugh and I know I should have. Tucker started to laugh but stopped, putting his elbow on the table. "Are you okay, Danny? If there's something on your mind, you know you can tell me."

"Yeah," I said, putting my best effort into sounding nonchalant. "I'm just a little off today. It was nothing. Let's eat."

_Yeah_, Lilly said. _Let's eat._

Don't eavesdrop, young lady, I told her.

_I just want my apple. You've already spit half of it on the floor!_

I need to be more careful. I don't know how she will react when she learns the truth about me. I would rather be there to explain that thing to her than try to explain it when we both can't see each other.

"You sure," Tucker said, picking up his fork.

"Yes, I'm sure," I playfully scolded him. "Eat!"

How could I ever explain this to them? They would never accept Vlad and to tell them about Lilly is to tell them about Vlad. I couldn't just say that I was raped and I didn't know who did it. The two are connected; even Sam and Tucker would figure that out. Who else could rape me?

**AN: Here's another chapter! I'd love to hear from you. I am currently working on a new way of finding information. I will continue to post chapter companions of course (part II up tomorrow) but I will be creating threads on my forum page that asks questions and gives answer. Up now: Vlad and Danny. I will be posting 23 threads over the course of the next few days. PM me or review a requested thread if you have one and check it out. In case you missed it, there is a new poll on my profile page. Tell me what you think.**


	7. Chapter 7

**Disclaimer: I don't own Danny Phantom. If I did, he wouldn't be a children's cartoon! Sorry, kiddies.**

**Warning: This story contains reference to rape, sexual content, male sex and pedophilia. If any of this disturbs you, please do not read.**

**Chapter Seven: The Common Man**

After we ate, we went back to the library. Tucker went back to work on bringing electricity to the castle and Sam was buried in books. I thought that maybe I could make myself useful, so I walked over to her. "Are there are any books you want to take home or that you are finished with?"

"Actually, yes. Please take this entire stack back to the bookshelf." She put her hand on an entire stack.

"Sure," I replied. I picked the stack up and floated over to the shelf. I was still in human form so I allowed nature to take over. However, one of the books flew from the stack and landed in the shelf. I was taken aback but I continued. I got what was happening when several books started flying from the stack. They were enchanted to return to their spots when they come in the area. I had seen something a little more sophisticated at the Ghost Writer's library. While the other ghosts were fighting each other, I noticed all the books floating in the background, without any orders to do so. I would have thought about it but I had no rhymes to accompany that thought. Even when I used orange I rhymed my thoughts.

"That's pretty amazing," I replied, walking back to Sam's table. "The books are enchanted. They'll return on their own when you walk by the book shelf. They don't even have to be in order."

"Cool," Sam replied. "I hope I can take these books out of here or I'll be coming back frequently."

"What are you looking into," I asked.

"The biology of ghosts," Sam replied. "But that's only a part of it. I've also found some interesting books I want to read but those are on reserve. I'll get to them when I finish the important topics."

"Why are you looking up the biology of ghosts," I asked, confused.

"To see if I can explain why you can't feel anything," Sam replied. "I'm also wanting to see if ghosts are solidary creatures or if they are like humans who are social."

"Oh, Sam," I sighed. "You don't need to worry about that."

"That's not all I'm researching," Sam said, "as if you couldn't tell. I'm also trying to do some background on what you might be hiding from us."

"How could you do that," I asked.

"While there may be nothing about halfa's written, there is an entire category about humans with ghost powers," Sam explained. "I'm trying to figure out if there are any relations."

"What exactly is a human with ghost powers," I asked, confused.

"From what I've learned, they're people who have had their minds opened. The book said something about it being hereditary."

"Opening of the mind," I exclaimed, "is that exactly what it said?"

"Yeah," Sam said. "Why?"

"Well, for one, what do you think that I do to you guys when you fly around," I said, a little panicked. She didn't react. "Well, I know that Spectra opened over two hundred minds six weeks ago!"

"What," Sam said, finally reacting. "I don't care about Tuck's and my minds. We'll be half ghost one day anyway but the entire school may have these powers?"

"That's what the bugs did," I replied. "You remember. You had the up function of flight but you didn't have the down. They might have been small but they opened minds. If that means that it will be impacting, I don't know, but it's worth looking into."

"Absolutely," Sam replied. "Oh, my god."

"I hope this doesn't affect your two's becoming half ghost," I said quietly, meaning to keep it to myself.

"How could it," Sam answered me. She started flipping through a book so I left the room.

O_O

I didn't really have a destination so no line appeared. I could almost imagine it telling me 'I can't tell you where to go if you yourself don't know where you want to go' but I haven't gone that far off the deep end yet. I just wondered aimlessly around the castle. Then, in synch, I got an idea where I wanted to go and the line appeared. This power was quite amazing.

I walked into the record keeper's office, "Hey. Do you have a list of persons in this castle… or ghosts. Whatever."

"Of course, sire," he replied. He held his hand out and a large leather bound book appeared in his hand. "For you."

I took the book, "I can take this out of the castle, yes?"

"It's your castle," he replied. "Ask yourself that question, not me. But if you are defeated with the book outside the castle, it will automatically return. Though, I doubt that particular thought would be in your mind at such a time."

"Yeah," I said, agreeing. "Wouldn't be a top priority. I'm about to die and lose my book! Yeah, that wouldn't happen." I displayed my gratitude again, "Thank you."

"Any time, sire," he replied, going back to work.

"Hey," I called while I was thinking about it, "Do you have a replacement?"

"No," he answered. "When I'm away from the office, you would have to summon me from my quarters although I know everything that goes off in this castle. Chances are I know you're coming before you do I just have no way of knowing what you'll want."

"Were you in this position with King Pippin," I asked.

"Yes sir," he replied. "I've done this both my entire life and my entire afterlife."

"You were better predicting the first families' requests, weren't you?"

"Not particularly," he replied. "My boss is the castle. The castle is so large that most of the people don't pay attention to it. It hasn't lost any of its coverage, it's just concentrated into one building now. I'm having difficulty with that."

"You'll get the hang of it," I replied. "I can do the same thing with my boss. Predict his every movement, request and whimsical act."

"I'm that way with the castle," he replied. "I know it's every dream and desire."

I nodded, walking away. "Thank you."

"It's alive," he replied. "Don't forget that!"

O_O

The rest of the day stayed uneventful. Even patrol went off without a hitch. However, after first patrol, Sam went home but Tuck followed me. When we made it to my house, he turned inside. I nearly had a duck calf.

"You're going home," I declared, cutting him off.

"I'm going to the castle," Tucker retorted. "I have a lot of work to put that place in operation. You can go on late-night shift and I'll be at the castle. I'll call Mom and let her know what's going down. Just don't worry."

"How can I not worry," I asked. I looked up in the sky and I could already see the light from the numerous glows. They weren't here but they were coming. I couldn't escape them to take Tucker to the castle. He'd have to go by himself.

"Just don't think about it," Tucker replied. "Now let's get inside before we're late."

"Fine," I replied. I had to get back outside before the ghosts start to terrorize humans out of boredom.

O_O

I got hit way too many times. My mind was just not in the fights and that cost me around one-fifteen. Invincible returned and he cut me up pretty bad. The bastard believed he had improved that much over me. He had improved, sure, but I still could have met him blow for blow. He knows he didn't win this fight because if he did, I would be dead. I managed to pull out of the mess I was in with my ghostly wail. All I can say is don't ever, ever, try that unless it's a last ditch effort.

I actually crawled home. I was in my human form, absolutely no power left, too injured to walk and too tired to give a damn. When I made it to my house, I crawled to the shed and retrieved a rope. I used the rope as a pulley, using some kind of busted up invention of Mom and Dad's as weight. I had to stifle a scream when I used my powers to land the rope just right. Once inside, I left the contraption as it was and climbed into my bed. I gasped and groaned, but I made it.

I didn't fall asleep. I was exhausted but every position hurt so it kept me awake. I watched two come and go and before the quarter of three was over, my door opened. I laid perfectly still but it didn't help.

"Danny," Tucker called out, slamming my door shut. I winced.

"Tucker," I gasped. "Mom and Dad could hear that."

"Damn it, Danny," Tucker said, dropping to his knees by my bed. He retrieved the first aid kit I had hidden under my bed. "You should have called us!"

He pulled out his cell phone as he grabbed the scissors. "Tuck, don't. She's sleeping."

"You may be suicidal but I am not," Tucker retorted. "She will kill me if I don't tell her!"

"I'm not suicidal," I denied. "I just made a bad situation worse." I gasped out as he accidently touched one of the Ectoranium wounds.

"Sorry, sorry," Tucker said. "Sam," Tucker said into the phone. "Danny's been hurt."

"I'm fine, Sam," I yelled, hoping the message would get to her.

"I'm on my way," I heard Sam reply. The line clicked and Tucker tossed the phone on the opposite side of my bed. He started to focus on cutting away the clothes but it still didn't prevent his accidently touching them. I gasped out and even screamed a few times.

"Silent proof," I screamed. "Now, Tucker!"

"I'm not leaving you," he declared.

"You won't be," I hissed between my teeth. "Just stand up and activate the silent proof before someone hears." My door pushed open slowly and I knew someone had heard me. Jazz peeked her head into my room but came running in when she saw the sight. "Wait," I cried. "Please activate the silent proof. I don't want Mom and Dad to hear." I groaned out again, clenching my bloody sheets.

Jazz quickly activated the invention and ran over to me, "What happened, Danny? I saw you come home last night!"

"I sneak out after I come home," I gasped again, a painful moan escaping my lips. "Too many ghosts!"

"Danny," Tucker gasped but continued to cut. It was a slow process because of how many cuts I had. It would be easier if my tore clothing transferred when I did.

"I'll explain when," I said, groaning again, "when Sam gets here."

"You haven't told them," Jazz said in horror.

"If it doesn't include them," I gasped. "Exclude them."

I heard metal slam against the house, causing Tucker to look in that direction. His scissors touched another spot that was injured and I screamed out involuntarily. I tried to curb the scream but it was too late. I groaned, tears coming to my eyes.

"Here," Jazz said, snatching the scissors from his hands. "Can't you tell you're hurting him?"

"He's doing-doing the best he can," I replied, clenching my eyes shut. This is the only place that closing my eyes doesn't take the pain away. Ectoranium is real pain.

Sam jumped over the window frame and raced over to me. Her eyes filled with tears and I forced myself to look behind her instead of at her. This is why I never want them to see me like this. "Danny, what happened," Sam cried as she dropped to her knees.

"Invincible," I replied, gasping slightly as Jazz cut. She did have steadier hands but it was still excruciating. "He came back tonight and caught me off guard. All he needs is one cut and I'm his personal butchering hog." I clenched my eyes shut, tears rolling down my face. "I need to tell you guys something. Jazz knows I'm half ghost."

"What," Tucker cried as Sam snapped up. She finally saw Jazz. "When?"

"It came out through the CAT," I replied. "I haven't told you guys yet because I didn't know how you'd exactly act."

"How did you get hurt," Jazz asked me. "I don't understand. What is this green stuff?"

"Green stuff," Sam asked, walking over to my side. She looked over my injuries.

"Don't," I started to say but it was too late. I screamed out as she touched it. "Touch it," I gasped. "I should have said something sooner. I need to have it surgically removed. You guys remember what Ectoranium is, right?"

"No," Jazz replied.

"That's what that stuff that Nazi cut you with, wasn't it," Sam asked me.

"Yeah," I answered Sam. "It's the anti-ghostly element that Mom and Dad don't get much of. Usually when they do get shipments of it, they come up with a million inventions. Both the ghost shield and the ghost batons were created from Ectoranium."

"The highly lethal ghost element Ectoranium," Jazz cried, her eyes snapping to mine.

"That's it," I groaned. "I need this stuff out of me and since you guys are already here, how about some surgery?"

"You're kidding, right," Jazz said, her eyes wide. Sam and Tucker knew I wasn't kidding and slid me into their hands.

"Get the door, Jazz," Sam replied. "If you don't want to be a part of this, then you may leave after you help us get to the lab but we can't get him to the lab as safe with two as we can with three."

"You guys have no surgical experience," Jazz declared.

"Now," Sam snapped. "You want to be a guardian of the secret, then be one! Keeping Danny's secret is more than just keeping your mouth shut though you'd better do that too!"

Jazz threw open the door while Sam and Tucker packed me down the stairs. No matter how much it hurt, I sucked it in. Jazz shut the lab door and activated the silent proof system. I thought I was going to let it out when that silent proof turned on but I didn't. Sam and Tucker began the process and eventually Jazz asked what she could do.

When the last piece was extracted from my system, I felt the burden lifted off my shoulders. It took me a little longer to heal up but it was quick enough for Jazz's eyes to grow the size of silver dollars. "Holy cow, Danny, that's fast!"

"That's the way I like it," I replied, taking a deep breath. "Thanks guys. I owe you a lot."

"Just call us when you're hurt next time," Tucker retorted. "At the site of the accident!"

"Next time," Jazz cried. "He'll get hurt again!"

"There's a lot you need to learn about Danny," Tucker said sympathetically. "One thing, he always gets hurt again!"

"It's not always this bad," I replied. "Actually, it's never been this bad. Ever. I messed up when I used the ghostly wail."

"The what," Jazz asked.

"Yeah, the what," Sam asked, her tone sharp.

"Did I forget to tell you about that too," I asked, thinking over the last two weeks. Nope, I never told them that. "I guess I just have too many secrets from the CAT that I didn't tell you that. I never meant to keep that from you. I got the ghostly wail in the future."

"Holy cow," Tucker declared. "Just like he had!"

"Yes," I replied. "And you should have seen his face. Apparently, I don't get it for another ten years. Looks like time's changing," I said, clicking my tongue.

"Looks like the future isn't set in stone," Sam said, annoyed.

"I'm not that smart," I replied. "Well, you guys ready for bed?"

"Yeah," Sam said. "I'm tired."

"Me too," I replied, "Are you going back home?"

"No," Sam declared. "I'm going up with you."

"That's it," Jazz cried. "Danny was hurt, you pulled some glass from his skin and now you're going to bed."

Sam and I turned and started up the stairs, ignoring Jazz. I heard Tucker talking to Jazz about understanding a lot about our life. "You don't have to stay," I replied. "I'll be fine."

"Are you trying to get rid of me, Danny Fenton," she teased.

"Yeah," I replied, "I want you to get a good night's sleep."

"Then quit bickering," Sam smacked me playfully. We reached the top of the basement stairs, opening the door. Things were still quiet as we began to climb the stairs leading to the upstairs.

Sam and I went into my room. "Goodnight Jazz," I said as Tucker came in beside me.

"Goodnight," Jazz said, a little lost for words.

"She has a lot to learn," Tucker repeated for the third time tonight.

"He had a pulley outside," Sam said as soon as the door was closed again.

"What," Tucker said, not getting Sam's statement.

I sighed, "It's all right, Sam. I was a little tired."

"You were exhausted," Sam retorted. "You couldn't even come in the house or use your powers to fly you inside. You had to heave yourself up the side of the house like a bucket of nails!"

"The ghostly wail drained me," I defended. "What was I supposed to do?"

"Call us," they both declared at the same time. I should have seen that one coming.

"I never even checked the PDA," Tucker said, looking to Sam. "I am so sorry, I should have. But we were in England. Everything in this country was closed and they're from over in that area anyway. You should have seen their eyes when they saw how much everything has changed."

"You took ghosts out of the Ghost Zone purposely," I declared.

"No," Tucker replied simply, "They took me out. They transported us. That was cool!"

"It doesn't make you sick," I asked, intrigued.

"No," Tucker said, confused. "Have you transported before?"

"Yeah," I answered. "I was transported that way when we went to see Grandpa before Christmas. Vlad has a transportation power."

"Oh," Tucker said, looking back to Sam. "It's probably the evil."

I didn't say anything, just listened to Tucker apologize to Sam.

"It's all right," finally Sam said. "You called me as soon as you found out. If you hadn't been working, we might not have discovered it until we came over tomorrow. You did good."

"No, I didn't," Tucker said, his voice low. "I should have known about this a long time ago."

"No one is responsible for me but me," I interjected. "I made one slip up, he cut me and he had it from there. It wasn't the Ectoranium that had me down and out, it was the drainage of power. I wouldn't have been that bad if I hadn't used the ghostly wail… but then again, I wouldn't be alive, probably, if I didn't use the ghostly wail." I thought over the options I had available. "I guess I didn't have a choice."

"It got that bad," Sam asked me, worried.

I hummed as I thought about it, "Yeah. I can't lie to you about this. Once that stuff touches me, it starts to drain my powers and tear my forms apart. My phantom form retreats from my human form because it's killing the ghost in me but once the ghost is gone, the injuries will do me in."

"That's it," Tucker declared. "We need to take care of that bastard!"

"What would you do to him, hm," I replied. "You're a human. I haven't even told him I'm half human. He's never seen my human form."

"We would destroy him," Sam declared. "It can be done. We saw Mrs. Simmons destroy the Nazi."

"I don't believe in destroying ghosts," I declared. "They don't deserve that! Who knows where they go?"

"They're willing to kill you, Danny," Sam said firmly. "I don't care where the hell they go!"

"Well, I do," I said softly. "As far as we know, this is the last stage of life. I don't want to be responsible for anyone not being able to finish this ride."

"If you're talking about Heaven and Hell, I'm certain that God has a master plan," she replied. "Maybe when your ghostly body is destroyed, you become a particle spirit. Or maybe you get judged early and either given the high rise or the parking garage. Maybe…"

"That's all speculative, though," I declared. "We don't know what happens to destroyed spirits. What if they completely disappeared and they never had a chance at Heaven?"

"Would you believe that if they were attacking innocent ghosts that they would even have a chance to make it to Heaven," Tucker asked.

"I just don't know if I can live with myself if I destroyed a ghost," I said, bowing my head. "Let's go to sleep, guys. Morning will be here in a few hours."

"Maybe we can sleep in," Tucker said, climbing on my bed first.

"We promised Mom," I said. "Today's Friday, right," I said, counting attacks on my fingers. Ghost Writer, Invincible-one, Invasion from absence, Wednesday was therapy, another kind of fight; last night. Sam and Tucker nodded. "Saturday is the only day we could do this and do you really want to take a gamble of something happening and preventing the breakfast. Sunday I have something scheduled for us and Monday starts school. Days are ticking. We can sleep in Saturday."

"Okay," Tucker sighed as Sam climbed in my bed too. I came in last and we all three kicked our shoes off simultaneously.

O_O

The sun woke me up again and I grabbed my alarm. It had been turned off. I looked to the corner but Mom wasn't there this time. That alarm does not get turned off and I don't sleep through the first second of it beeping. Mom's either been up or she's up now. I nudged Tuck and Sam and we started getting ready.

Mom was making breakfast when we came downstairs. "Mom," Tucker objected, "We said we'd make breakfast!"

"Well, you kids just looked so peaceful," Mom said, shrugging. "Hey, Sam, when did you come over?"

"Last night," Sam said. "I called D… Tucker. I called Tucker and he told me he was over here at the house. I didn't know they were spending the night together and I couldn't let Tucker one-up me."

"Okay," Mom replied. She didn't really care that Sam came over. She's threatened to adopt Sam and Sam has actually asked her to a few times. I never know if either one are serious.

We took our seats and waited for everyone to join us. Jazz was actually last to come down, even extending Dad. Jazz stared at me like I'd grown a second head when she saw me. I guess she expected me to be laid up in bed, unable to move or anything.

"She has a lot to learn," Tucker replied.

"I can't imagine how bad you actually were that day," Jazz said, taking a seat.

"Hush," Sam and Tucker hissed at her.

"Well, Jazz is finally included in the secret," Dad replied, a little sleepy.

"Are you okay, Danny," Jazz asked me.

"Yes," I shot at her. "Don't worry!"

"Did anything happen last night that we don't know about," Mom asked. "I figured with Tucker staying over last night you didn't leave."

"Mm," I hummed. "Nothing happened. Jazz just heard Tucker, Sam and I up late last night. She thought we wouldn't be able to get up this early."

"Dang," Jazz said, pulling her plate to her. She didn't say anything more on the subject but I saw her staring at me frequently. How is it she can keep this secret from me for so long but be ready to bust it with Mom and Dad? Is it the pressure of talking about it to some people but not others?

After breakfast, we done a little training. When Sam and Tucker were keeping up with me, Sam put her foot down. We went to the clinic. Dr. Reynolds told me that we hadn't got all the fragments out. Talking about difficult, trying to convince her she didn't need to tell them about Vlad. Back at Headquarters, I moved much more quicker and they fell several paces behind me. Give them time and they'd be back to pushing me against the limit.

O_O

Tucker wanted to go back to the castle and work some more on the project so I had an opening for my language class. Sam jumped on the idea of studying some more in the library and I had my opening. I went to Elemerton and Vlad removed my powers.

I had no ghost powers to back me up now. I was completely reliant on my ability to learn this language and it was tough. I didn't study a text book or do worksheets. No, for my French lesson, we spoke in French while he taught me my new lessons for the day. He gave me an assignment every evening at home that I had to do to prepare me for Mondays and Fridays. I knew what we'd be talking about and I needed to study those subjects in French. I barely had time to do these things and for the last few days, I haven't done those things. I was extremely anxious.

Vlad sat down in his chair and started to read his latest book as I took the chair in front of the computer. My tutor wasn't on screen yet so I pulled up my email account and searched out my homework documents. I began to study over my homework and I knew that I would be in trouble when he did come online. As always, the note was in French but if I had read it when I should have, I would have understood every word. This is so not good.

A notice popped up on my computer alerting me to someone trying to link up. I looked out of the corner of my eye and I saw Vlad looking at me. Well, I can't pretend like he didn't call. I clicked the accept button and the webcam started. My tutor came online, greeting me in French.

I returned my greeting, knowing what to do from practice. It went smooth for maybe two minutes and then all hell broke loose. I caught a few words but the sentence did not make sense. After a few phrases, he looked at me.

"Are you ready to tell me you haven't read my assignments," he said, his French accent thick.

"I didn't read my assignments," I replied. "I'm on Spring Break and my time has been cut in half."

"You're on Spring Break but you don't have time," he asked me, disbelief in his voice.

"I know it sounds stupid," I replied, "but my friends have been spending every waking moment with me. It's not an excuse but then again, I'm not too concerned. This is just Vlad's stupid idea."

"I want you to be prepared for anything in life," Vlad replied.

"I will see you Monday," I replied, clicking off the camera. I tried to be cooperative with Vlad's standards but there are just certain times that he crosses the line. "Yeah," I turned in his direction, "When I'm powerless and facing a French madman, I'll thank you."

"Daniel," Vlad said, his voice stern. "I do these things for you, not for me."

"Vlad, I know you mean well but you have no idea what my life is like," I cried. I didn't care if I sounded like a little girl. I was pregnant! I had an excuse for crying and whining.

"Do you want some cheese with that whine," Vlad said, crossing his arms and wearing a playful smirk.

"You know what, Vlad. Yes! Yes, I do want some cheese with this whine and I want you to go fuck yourself! Because I sure as hell ain't!"

Vlad backed back a bit but began laughing anyhow. "Daniel, are you a little moody right now?"

"What gave you that idea," I asked, walking off. "I have no idea why I might be a little moody," I said as I disappeared down the hall.

I went into the baby's room and started to sort through the clothes that Vlad had already bought. I started tossing some of the clothes that were inappropriate for a baby girl into the floor. I left most of the clothes alone because baby girls are allowed more room for gender-crossing than a baby boy is but still, some of the clothes just screamed 'boy' and I didn't want her to develop an identity crisis.

The door opened behind me, "Daniel."

"Leave me alone," I declared. I was stuck here until the three hours was done but that didn't mean I was okay with it. If I knew I could get away with it, I would either call a cab or call my parents but I knew Vlad would be furious if I left early. Plus, what else could I do without powers.

"I'm sorry," Vlad said softly. "I am not trying to make you angry."

"Well, you did it anyway," I declared, tossing another boy-themed outfit.

"Hey," Vlad declared. "Why did you do that for?"

"Because it is unacceptable for a baby girl," I declared.

Vlad groaned from behind me, "Our child is a boy! Why do you keep insisting it will be a girl?"

"Because I've seen her," I declared. "Just go away," I said, sitting down in the recliner that was beside the closet. "I don't feel like dealing with you right now."

"I just want to know what I can do to make you feel better," he asked, his voice soft.

"I just want to be alone for a while," I said, sighing. "I've been stressed lately and I've been getting less sleep and I've been dealing with my parents." I put my head in my hands, "I just don't want this to collapse because of something that you can't help!"

"Okay," Vlad said softly, "I'll be in the living room if you need me."

"Thank you," I replied, keeping my head in my hands. I heard the door softly close and I looked up. Vlad had left. I groaned out loud, "I'm just sick of this," I said aloud to the nothingness. "I don't know how much more I can take."

O_O

When the three hours passed, I let Vlad know I was leaving but there were no tender goodbyes. I flew back to the house and grabbed a bowl of apples. I took a knife and started peeling it, bite by bite. I wasn't eating it because I wanted it, I was just eating it because it was something to do. Jazz walked into the kitchen, opening the refrigerator.

"Hey, Danny," Jazz greeted me.

"Hey," I said quietly. "What are you up to?"

"Getting something to eat," Jazz said, her voice losing its cheerfulness. "Are you okay?"

"I'm just a little stressed," I said, slicing another bite of apple. "Did you read up on microbiology," I asked her about her project when Youngblood was here.

"What," Jazz asked me. "Oh, yeah. I done that last week after we got back from the camping trip."

"Oh," I said, slicing another bite. I placed the knife and the apple in one hand while I studied the slice of apple in the other. "I just realized that I never talk to you anymore."

"I know," Jazz said, coming to sit down across from me. "You know, I told you this when I first found out but I still mean it. You can talk to me about anything."

"I know," I replied, "and sometimes I wish I had talked to you that day. So many things have gone so horribly wrong since the accident." I looked back at the apple slice but ended up slipping it in my mouth. "What would you do if one of your guys went too far and you didn't want that?"

"You mean if one of my boyfriends tried to rape me," Jazz asked, her voice growing concerned. "If it happened and I couldn't stop it, I would contact the police."

"And what would you do if he came back to you and apologized," I asked her, finally looking at her. Sometimes it was so easy to forget that Vlad used to rape me but every once and a while it would resurface and I found being around him difficult.

"It would be too late," Jazz said softly. "Danny, that is a personal part of yourself. You say no for a reason and if that person can't respect your decision, then they don't respect you."

"But what if it was my fault," I asked, my eyes watering up.

"Danny," Jazz said, her voice growing worried. "Someone hasn't hurt you, have they?"

"I don't know how to answer that," I said, looking down again. My tears dried up but I could still feel them on the surface. "I blame myself. I could have stopped it but I didn't. Now, that person has asked for forgiveness."

"Danny, have you been raped," Jazz declared, her voice going high.

"No," I denied. "I was just trying to liken it to something you could relate to." Jazz's breathing returned to normal. "It's a ghost I know. He wanted me to turn my back on everything I had fought for and join him. He made my life a living hell but recently he's asked for my forgiveness. I actually gave it to him but I have been having second thoughts every once and a while. I don't know if I chose right."

"Is he asking for anything in return," Jazz asked.

"Not really," I replied. "Just my friendship."

"Beware," Jazz said, her voice soft. Thank goodness, because if she sounded like the Box Ghost, I might have strangled her. "It could be a plot to get your trust and get you to turn without you even realizing it."

"What," I asked, confused. How could Vlad make me turn without my knowledge? How could anyone?

"You trust your friends, right," Jazz asked me. I nodded. "Well, haven't you ever done something that you knew was wrong because Sam and Tucker asked you to?"

I laughed, "How do you think I wound up half ghost? Sam and Tucker weren't responsible, of course. I chose to do it, but I would have never been in the lab if they hadn't asked me."

"Well, imagine if you start trusting this guy. Imagine if you begin thinking, 'he would never lead me in the wrong direction.' Imagine that one day, he does. 'It won't hurt anything to do this,'" Jazz said, her voice mimicking mine. I laughed but it didn't quite feel like it should have. Could she be onto something here?

"Thanks," I replied, my smile working this time. I meant that emotion and I hoped she knew that.

"Anytime, little brother," Jazz smiled back. I went back to slicing my apple but now I was thinking over some things. Was Jazz right? Was Vlad doing this to either turn me evil or to cause me to fall in love with him? I would never turn evil but if the latter was his plan… my God, he's won.

O_O

Saturday morning came much too early and I was truly regretting the beginning of school Monday. Sam and Tucker wanted to go back to the castle and I decided to join them. However, when I got there, it was clear that I would not have the freedom to do as I had done in the past couple days. Steven ushered me off in another direction while one of the bishops lead Sam and Tucker to their own destinations. I was for a loss about what was going off.

"Where are we going," I asked as Steven floated down the hall briskly. I was taking big strides but I was about to take to the air as well. Finally, Steven came to an abrupt stop somewhere in what I assumed was a few floors up. The entire room was vacant and the only interior was a wall that separated the floor into two rooms.

"Sire, please go inside that room and await for your first visitor. Anastasius shall be with you shortly."

"Okay," I said, a little confused. Steven turned away, leaving me alone in the enormous rooms. I walked towards the room that was much smaller in size. When I walked through the door, I changed my opinion. It was much larger in size than it should have been—it was an office.

"My lord," the record keeper addressed me as he came into the office. "I shall be scheduling appointments for the duration of your stay. You need to begin building your noblemen and your army, sire."

"What," I asked, startled. "I have to assign these things myself."

"You are the high king," he addressed me. "This is your haunt, your majesty. You may ignore your duties as King of All Ghosts but you cannot ignore your duties to this castle. It is your responsibility. You have millions of subjects here alone."

"Oh my," I said, taking my head in my hand. "I don't even know where to begin. I know nothing about this kind of stuff."

"That's why I am here, sire. I shall help you," he replied.

"Okay, noblemen are just people who hold power. I need to either label them as Dukes, Counts, or Barons. But how do I even build an army?"

"You shall begin with those that wish to serve. Then, you shall begin to draft," he told me.

"Why would I even need an army," I asked. "I'm not planning on waging war anytime soon."

"No nation ever does, High King," he said softly. That's true. I have a lot of experience with armies but I never imagined having to build one.

"Okay," I said. "Send me a dossier of the interviewee," I asked.

"As you wish, my lord," he bowed. He turned away and walked into the main room. I had a seat at the desk but it made me highly uncomfortable. A dossier materialized on my desk.

The name was impossible to pronounce and I read that he used to be the High Duke. I studied his file but it just told me about his qualifications. That was swell and all but I won't choose until I know more about him.

A knock came to my door and I looked up. The man walked in my office, "My Lord, I have come for my interview."

I motioned to the chair opposite me, "Have a seat. I have reviewed your file. You used to be the High Duke of King Pariah."

"I was, your majesty. I served as the next in line," he addressed me.

"And the Fright Knight," I asked, confused. "Where was he on the list of those in charge?"

"The Fright Knight," he spoke distastefully, "was the head of the armies. The Fright Knight was not a spiritual embodiment of a human. He was the embodiment of King Pariah's evil deeds. He was true evil."

"Did you support the king's actions," I asked, leaning back in my chair. I was looking for a sign of his lying.

"I support the ruler of the land," he answered. "His actions mean nothing to me. I am loyal to my nation."

"I am also interested in loyalty to principals," I replied. "I expect you to have something that you are passionate about. A man does not know another until he knows what he's most passionate about."

"I'm afraid that I am most passionate about my nation," he stated, crossing his legs. I was startled for a moment but then I remembered how that act used to be a sign of a gentleman. It's more common for women today. Vlad does it often, though.

"What if you saw your nation being driven in the wrong direction," I asked. "What would you do in that instance?"

"I would never challenge my ruler," he answered. "I'm sure whatever you do, it is in the best interest of the nation."

I sighed. "Thank you," I replied. "I will alert you of my decision at a later date."

"Thank you, my lord," he replied as he walked away. A twinge of worry was in his voice.

I wrote down my notes on the folder and miraculously, it vanished at the exact moment I was finished. Another appeared in its place.

This was going to be a long day.

Ghost after ghost entered into my office but none of them met what I considered a true nobleman. They were all more interested in kissing my ass than answering truthfully. The record keeper came in at last. "How many more are there," I asked disappointed.

"Far too many to count, my liege. You haven't even completed King Pariah's noblemen."

"Put them to the back of the list," I instructed. "I want to see the heart and soul of this castle. Start with the poorest peasants."

"Poor by human standards or by ghost standards, sire," he asked me.

"The common man," I answered. "I want to hear from those who have never had a voice before."

"As you wish," he bowed.

I liked the next dossier that appeared on my desk. He was a carpenter that has been out of work lately. With so many slaves in Pariah's time, paid laborers had fallen out of demand. With no use to pay for his labor, Pariah fired him and he had been working out of the castle.

"You wished to see me, my high king," he asked, keeping his head in a constant bow

"Yes," I answered. "Have a seat and don't crick your neck for me. I'm almost exactly like you. I just still have human in me."

"You are the High King," he answered, "I shall always treat you with respect, sire."

"So, you've experienced some hard times before Pariah's defeat," I asked.

"Yes, sire. King Pariah needed no more workers," he spoke softly.

"What did you think of King Pariah," I asked.

"I desire to show no disrespect," he answered.

"I put the guy to sleep," I said, my voice showing no difference, "disrespect away."

"He destroyed our great castle and he destroyed the Ghost Zone," he said, his voice soft. "He enslaved so many innocent ghosts that there were more slaves here than there were cattle."

"Cattle," I asked, confused. "Why would he have cattle?"

"With a kingdom, every living creature appears at the castle. The slaughtered cattle still give beef, even in this world. They just heal rapidly."

Suddenly, I'm starting to regret eating that meat. "Did you ever rebel against him?"

"I'm a poor ghost, my lord. I wouldn't have lasted a minute against him. However, I did support the uprising that opposed him."

"How would you like to rise from peasant to nobleman," I asked.

"Sire," he asked, confused.

"I haven't decided but I like your honesty," I replied. "I could use a man like you on my board."

"I would be honored to serve you, my lord. Anything you ask, I will honor," he replied.

"Good," I replied. "I need to ask a question, though. What kind of currency do ghosts use?"

"We have currency the same as you do," he replied. "We have adopted the currency of the later generations. Gold is no longer a common currency."

"So you use money. Paper money or coin money," I asked.

"A mixture," he answered. "Just like the American nation."

"That's what I am," I answered. "So you use paper and coin. Interesting. Thank you, you may return."

"Thank you, my lord," he replied, walking out.

"Record keeper," I spoke, my voice natural in volume. "Send me a woman. This is the twenty-first century! Women can do anything men can do." I lowered my voice to a whisper, "Sometimes, even more."

I met many female ghosts and they excited me even more than the male peasants did. Just like the women's rights movement, the females had many interesting things to say. Sam and Tucker came into the room while I was interviewing a male ghost. They were listening in the background while I was interviewing him. Finally, I dismissed him.

"That's all, record keeper," I said.

"Will you be returning tomorrow," he asked me.

"Probably," I replied. "But we'll be gone at two. Seven hours is all we'll be here."

"Two," Tucker asked, confused. "Where are we going then?"

"Richview," I answered. "We have an appointment tomorrow."

"We," Sam asked. "Why weren't we told about this?"

"It's a surprise," I replied. The real reason, they'll reject the idea and they may escape it if I give them time to fight it.

"Okay," Sam said.

"But I need this place hooked up by Monday," Tucker complained.

"They've been without power for a thousand years, Tucker. Another week isn't going to kill them… again!"

"But they don't know what living is," Tucker cried. The funny thing is, I believe him. I couldn't imagine my life without power. I guess I can understand why he wants to get power in this place. Sam and Tucker have to use candlelight to get through the place. Usually, though, the ghosts use ectoplasm to substitute the candles.

"It'll be all right," I replied. "They know how hard you're working."

"It's time for patrol," Sam replied. "Let's go!"

"Okay," I replied. I stood up and stretched.

O_O

"Are you going to call us when you come back in," Sam asked me before she went back inside after patrol.

"Yeah," I answered. "When I get back in, I'll call you. But try to get some sleep. Don't stay up all night worrying."

"You were hurt last night, Danny," Sam said as she started up her stairs. "I'll always worry."

"She's right," Tucker replied. We started walking to his house. "You need to tell us when you're hurt."

"Okay," I smiled at him. "I won't keep that from you."

O_O

I saw Invincible again but I was more focused this time. He left in a rage of fury, vowing to return and destroy me. I came home that night and called Sam. She hadn't been to sleep at all and it showed in her voice. The sluggish sounds were absent and she could deny it all she wanted but I knew the truth. I called Tucker and the same thing played out. However, I was a little suspicious. The line between us was weak, the signal popping and cracking like he was going through a tunnel.

The next morning, Sam and Tucker came over but Tucker was still denying that he wasn't at home when I called him. We went back to the castle and I was bombarded with appointments. There was no shortage of ghosts to interview and the record keeper actually was pushing an interviewee away within two minutes of the start. I was actually delivered lunch and Sam and Tucker ate with me so they could see me. I was ready for two o'clock when it arrived.

"So," Sam smiled as we passed through the portal, "Where are we going?"

"What are we doing," Tucker asked, a little sluggish.

"You'll have to figure that out when we get there," I replied with a wicked grin. "So, are we flying or are we flying."

"Flying," they both declared and I laughed. I knew exactly what they meant. I would have to come up with a route to Richview that went over places that were sparsely populated. Sam and Tucker would be lost without me there to show them how to navigate in the open sky. It isn't as easy as they think it is.

I pulled out a map and found the route I wanted to take. I formed ectoplasm in my hand and copied the map with my power. Sam and Tucker gasped but I ignored them. I rolled the map up, my ectoplasm now like paper instead of fire. We took off, staying clear of populated areas. Tucker had used his PDA to determine where we were and he was surprised about how far from the road we were. I smiled at him, glad that I could give him this experience.

When I started to descend, Sam and Tucker followed me. However, I cut off their powers before they could take back to the air. Just as I expected, the idea did not comfort them.

"No," Sam declared.

"We're already here," I shrugged playfully. "Might as well make use of our time."

"I'm missing valuable time installing electricity in the castle for this," Tucker said. "I already know how to shoot to kill."

"Yeah, well humans are vastly different than ghosts," I replied. "I want you prepared to handle anything."

"How long do we have to be here," Sam asked.

"I scheduled one hour," I replied. This was the shooting range used by Richview to train their policemen. It was rarely reserved out and the town allowed the public to have access. Richview was a small town that was big on guns. It was rare for the shooting range to be shut down.

"Let's get this over with," Sam groaned. Tucker groaned as well but I was happy. At least they could get comfortable with the iron in their hands.

O_O

After their practice, we went to HQ for some ghost hunting practice. That's what I had planned: an afternoon of practice. Sam and Tucker were happier to be in the ghost hunting practice but they proved to me they could shoot flawlessly. After practice, it was time for patrol.

The streets became quiet again and all three of us were on edge. His powers hit me immediately and I transformed. Sam and Tucker pulled out weapons as my eyes scanned the horizon. The sight that I saw overwhelmed me.

"Oh, my God," Sam cried out and I flipped in her direction. The same sight I saw on my side filled her area.

"Danny," Tucker cried. I looked in his direction and I saw it there too.

Thousands of ghosts were circling us in the district. There were easily four times the number of ghosts as there were Monday. My throat swelled as I came to realize what was going on. "Guys," I cried. "Get out of here!"

"Are you mad," Sam cried, keeping her eyes on the invaders. "You'll be killed!"

"Not before you will be," I said, putting my eyes back on the sky. They weren't advancing but I knew that would not last long. "Guys, what will be will be. I won't be responsible for your deaths. Go!"

"We're in this to the bitter end," Tucker said but I heard the fear. I couldn't get them out of here. If I tried, I knew the ghosts would attack.

"It's not the two of you that are the targets of this attack," Invincible replied, coming out in the middle. "Their lives will be spared, Phantom. However," he smirked. "yours won't."

"We'll never let you kill him," Sam spat. "You'll have to get through us first!"

"It'll be done," Invincible replied, "but your lives will be spared."

"Bring it," Tucker replied, all fear in his voice vanishing.

Invincible raised his hand, "Charge!"

The ghosts descended on us like an angry mob of bees and we braced ourselves.

"Hold the formation," Sam called. "Whatever you do, don't break the formation!"

When the ghosts were three feet above us, I called, "Now!" I started firing shots of ectoplasm in the air as Sam and Tucker started firing their weapons. This was much different than the original massive attack Invincible led. They attacked as a mob while the last ones just weakened me. This would work.

We fired shot after shot but the ghosts just kept coming. We didn't have time to suck them in the thermos. I heard a struggle but I couldn't turn to look.

"Let go of me," Sam's voice cried out, a shot firing.

Tucker could be heard fighting some ghost but I still couldn't turn away.

"No," Sam screamed and I turned my head for a millisecond. Both she and Tucker were ripped from the Earth they were standing on. Suddenly, I was flying through the air. I hit the wall purposely and turned to face my attackers. All these ghosts were unfamiliar to me. I fired repeatedly and I fought as hard as I could but there were just too many of them. From building to building I was tossed. To ghost to ghost. It was just like in the future except these ghosts didn't take turns.

Then the ghosts started their own ecto-blasts. I started to spin like a top and I couldn't stop the screams of pain and fear. I could hear Sam and Tucker's screams, cries and struggles but they were trapped by fate as well. The blasts started coming from below and I started soaring up in the sky. Finally, another blast came from beside me, sending me hurling through the sky. My energy failed and I transformed down.

"Danny," Sam and Tucker screamed. I felt the force of something slamming into me but I was generating way too much force for that matter to hold me. Brick, steel, concrete, drywalls, and various objects slammed past me as I hurled through the first building. Amazingly, I was soaring in a vertical line so the next building in my path was a similar story. Weakened and losing consciousness, I felt the third building wiz past me. I slammed into the ground but with too much force, I slid further, the drag creating a trench as I traveled.

By the time I landed, I was still awake. I couldn't feel Invincible anymore so my injuries started to heal. The fact that I couldn't feel him panicked me. I had traveled more than a mile from Sam and Tucker. I transformed as I leapt into the air and hit the sonic mark, returning. I wouldn't stop. I would pick them up and carry them to safety. However, I did stop. Vlad was there.

The ghosts were scurrying away but so many of them couldn't escape. A red blast eradicated a ghost into oblivion. "When you attack him, you attack me," Vlad declared, a second ghost vanishing into nothingness.

"No," I cried. A third ghost came into his sight and it too met a permanent end. "Vlad, stop!"

"Spread the word," Vlad said, his voice deadly. "Daniel is under my protection! Anyone comes after him like this again and it will be the last thing they'll ever do!"

The last of the ghosts escaped but the feeling of Ectoranium survived. I looked up at the sky to see Invincible.

"And exactly who are you," Invincible asked, unfazed.

"Plasmius," Vlad declared. "Vlad Plasmius. The strongest ghost in the world."

"Hardly," Invincible retorted. "I am Invincible and I am the strongest." He turned to me, "Why aren't you injured?!"

"I was," I retorted, "but you sent me too far. You won't get that chance again."

"Damn straight," Vlad replied. He turned to me, "Is he the one who led this attack?"

"Vlad, no," I demanded. "He is immune to Ectoranium. He can create weapons out of it."

"What," Vlad declared, the seriousness of the situation donning on him. He looked up at Invincible. "You stay away from him, am I clear? I don't care if it destroys me, I will destroy you!"

"I think I know what's going on here," Invincible smirked.

"As long as you get the picture," Vlad barked.

"You're becoming a problem," I retorted. "I've only fought to survive. I may start fighting to kill!"

"This is war, Phantom. It's kill or be killed and I don't plan on being on the bad side of that analogy," he retorted. "You will fall and I will claim your kingdom for my own!"

He blasted away but I didn't see it. I closed my eyes, knowing that Vlad would ask about that. I didn't want him to know. It could be a bad influence on him.

"What is he talking about, Daniel," Vlad asked me.

"Thank you for stepping in," Sam cut in, "but you need to leave now."

"You will not tell me what to do," Vlad declared. "I will stay as long as I wish."

"Vlad," I said, my voice breaking. "I don't want any trouble. I appreciate you stepping in. I really do but you being here could cause trouble. Please."

"You've done enough damage already," Tucker shot. "Saving Danny, no matter how many times you do it, can't erase that."

"Tucker, Sam, please. No fighting," I begged.

"You want me to leave," Vlad asked.

"I want things to remain peaceful," I said. Please, Vlad, I sent out to him. Sam and Tucker have no idea about us and if they find out, all hell will break loose. Please, I'll see you later.

"If that's what you want," Vlad said. "But next time your life is in danger, I'd better hear about it."

Vlad teleported out, the anger radiating off him. I sighed, but turned to my friends, "Are you guys okay?"

"Are we okay," Sam declared. "You're the one who was just sent flying through an entire building. Are you okay?"

"I'm fine," I replied. "Luckily, I was sent just far enough for my injuries to heal. Talk about luck," I laughed, "Usually I'm on the bad side of luck!"

"Danny," Sam said, her eyes becoming wider, "are you saying you were thrown a mile out?"

"Yeah," I said, studying her reaction. "What's wrong? That was a blessing."

"My God," Tucker whispered. "You must have been in incredible pain until your injuries healed."

"It was a bee sting," I replied but kept the hornet nest out of the analogy. It did hurt like hell.

"Let's go home," Sam said, her voice low. She walked over to me and linked with my arm. "And you are never going out alone again!"

"What," I declared. "I'm going out tonight…"

"Oh, no, you are not," Sam declared.

I continued during her outburst, "…Although I probably won't have a need to. I think every ghost in the Ghost Zone was here."

"I'm with Sam here," Tucker cut in. "It's too dangerous for you to be out alone."

"You couldn't do anything even though you were here with me," I finally objected. "What could you do? Die with me!"

"We will obviously have to prepare better," Tucker said. "Or do something else."

"We will have to come up with a better detector," Sam replied. "We got complacent. We seen the streets were empty but we only expected Invincible. We will have to prepare for these massive attacks."

"But that still doesn't explain how you will make a difference," I said, my voice softer. "You may have a plan, Sam, but instead of walking the streets with me…"

"No," Sam objected.

"…You can monitor it on the screens…" I continued despite her second outburst.

"Absolutely not," Tucker now objected.

I concluded, "…And we can communicate by Fentonfones."

"No," they both declared.

"How would we get to you from an isolated location," Tucker asked me.

"That's the point," Sam objected, still staring me down. "We wouldn't be able to watch him die!"

"The portal accident," Tucker declared. "He didn't die because he refused to let us watch him die. It would have been easier for him to die if we weren't here tonight."

I put my head down, knowing that was exactly the reason I wanted them not to be here. Even in my dreams, when I died of old age I slept in another bed so Sam wouldn't watch me die. I knew it was happening then and even at the age of ninety-two, I refused to allow my friend to watch me die.

"It's not going to happen," Sam declared. "This going off on your own is done. You will be accompanied each time."

"And what about school," I asked. "When I go days without sleeping, I just look tired. In fact, I'll be okay for a good week and a half to two weeks. You guys go without sleep for three or more days, you could die from exhaustion."

"We will find a way to deal with that," Tucker replied, "although I'm partial to becoming half ghost."

"No," I declared. "That's unacceptable!"

"Tuck may be right," Sam said. "I think it's time for this. We can't keep delaying this."

"You don't understand," I declared. "You can't become half ghost. It is too dangerous!"

"I think it's too dangerous to put this off any more," Tucker input.

"It's too late," I replied. "I wouldn't have the time to train you!"

"And you'll have time when this mysterious event turns us half ghost," Sam asked me.

"That's what I'm talking about," I replied. "If you're already half ghost when that time comes, it will kill you! I wouldn't have time to train you to prevent the attack. If I had more time, I could in theory alter that timeline."

"How much time do we have and what will happen," Tucker asked.

"I estimate a month," I replied. "I don't know how much time we exactly have but I know it's something to do with an illness. I know you can't be half ghost when this happens."

"Why," Sam asked.

"In a dream, I contained the illness so that I alone was exposed to it," I replied. "I was dead within an hour."

"Oh, my God," Tucker said, his face paling.

"You can't become half ghost," I repeated, my eyes switching between the two of them. "There's just too much to risk. I don't want you to end up like I was in my dream."

"The last dream," Sam said. "The one where you died and came back to see us. That's the dream you are talking about, isn't it."

"Yeah," I said, my voice low. "My future-self thought that if he captured the virus and exposed it to himself, he would heal immediately and all would be all right. He was wrong and he told me to fix this. He don't have to tell me twice."

"We have to do something," Tucker declared. "We can't wait five years for our powers to develop!"

"Absolutely not," Sam agreed. "This has gone on long enough!"

"Let's just go home," I replied. "I may not be hurt anymore but I am wiped."

"Okay," Sam replied. We took off walking but I could tell they were trying to observe my actions. I wasn't hurt anymore and I wasn't even tired. I was hoping to get back out after they go home.

O_O

I should have seen that coming. They were following me in and I swear I believe if I shut that door, they'd tear it down. Mom was surprised to find us home at nine but showed no objections to Sam and Tucker's declare of 'we're moving in'. Jazz followed us up the stairs.

"What happened," Jazz asked, taking my arm and beginning to examine me.

"Invincible got smart," I replied. "I'm fine. I didn't even get cut."

"No, he only shot through a building and slammed into the earth a mile away," Tucker said sarcastically. "Isn't that wonderful?"

"What," Jazz declared. She yanked me harder as she examined me more critically.

"I'm fine," I replied. Should I mention that it was actually three buildings? Probably not. "I was far enough away from him that I could heal. I don't have a bruise on me."

"Why is he attacking you," Jazz cried as she pulled me to her.

"Uh," I grunted, "other ghosts have called me indestructible. He's got an identity crisis."

"Well, does that give him the right to kill my brother," she cried. I pulled out of her arms.

"To him, yes. He wants to settle who's the most powerful," I replied. I lowered my voice, "I'm about to give him his answer."

"Don't you ever let it get that close again," Sam declared.

"I didn't mean for it to get that close tonight," I replied. "Which, I've had closer calls. I'm just glad my luck held out. If I had landed inside the one-mile mark, Invincible could have cut me and it probably would have killed me."

"I can't believe you call flying out of bounds for a mile good luck," Tucker declared but his eyes lit up in a small smile.

"What do you mean you've had closer calls," Jazz declared.

"Oh, he's had closer calls," Sam agreed. "The King was the closest call I've ever seen."

"That's the one," I replied. "I hope that's the closest I come to dying before my death at an old age."

"Very old," Tucker said firmly.

"Ninety-two," I replied. "I'm satisfied with that timeline."

"What are these dreams," Jazz asked.

"Pathetic dreams," I replied. "I see the future."

"Prophetic dreams," Sam corrected as Jazz declared, "Oh, prophetic dreams!"

"Whatever," I said, waving my hand. "They're pathetic to me!"

Jazz laughed softly as Sam and Tucker smiled at me. With everything calming down, we settled in for sleep. Tomorrow. Was. School.

O_O

I didn't sneak off but I did wait for Sam and Tucker to fall asleep, in their cots again, before I gently floated out of bed. I left a note in case they woke up and floated outside my window. I landed on the roof of the ops center and looked at the sky. I was amazed at the clarity of the early April night sky. I almost forgot what it was like to star gaze.

I pulled my cell phone out and dialed the Elemerton's house phone. Vlad picked up, "Are you and the baby okay?"

"We're fine," I said. Thank God I'm on my 1-800 number or Mom and Dad would have access to this. "Everything is okay."

"Why didn't you tell me you were under that large of an attack," Vlad hissed at me.

"Because that was the largest attack I've ever experienced… and the most organized."

"I know how you lie," Vlad declared. "That wasn't the first attack, though, was it?"

"No," I answered. "He led an attack with fifteen hundred ghosts on Monday. He thought I was dead so he left without checking. Since, he's been determined to witness my obliterated form."

"Who is that guy," Vlad asked me.

"His name is Invincible," I answered. "Some ghosts started bragging that he wasn't the only indestructible ghost so he's determined to have a contest. He died surrounded by Ectoranium and it was transferred to his entire team. He said he was a miner in China when they came across it. The element crossed over with him into the afterlife. He destroyed all the others and now he's obsessed with being indestructible."

"So there's a chance he'll seek me out now, too," Vlad said, his voice becoming bored. "Great. Another nut case."

"Vlad, he's dangerous," I replied. "I don't want to see you hurt or worse!"

"Don't worry," Vlad replied. "If it gets too hairy, I always have my mind control."

"Just… please. Be careful if you ever come up against him and for God's sake, don't go looking for trouble. He's a ghost best left alone!"

"Okay," Vlad said. He paused on the line for a few moments, "Are you still mad at me?"

"I was never mad at you," I replied. "I've just been a little preoccupied."

"I missed you yesterday," Vlad replied, his voice soft. "I thought I'd see you last night."

"I just wanted some space," I replied. "I'll be there tomorrow for sure. Tomorrow school starts back up."

"Well, I hope to see you again. Maybe we'll see another show."

"Show," I asked, confused. "What show?"

"The ticket I put in your CD," Vlad replied. He paused for a moment and I knew he had figured it out. "You never opened the classical CD, did you?"

"No," I said, a little shameful. "There was a ticket in there. I didn't even know it had been… placed a prize inside."

Vlad chuckled, "I phased it inside. Like I said, I know you."

I smiled. "I love you," I replied.

"I love you both," Vlad said, his voice making a point.

"Goodnight, honey," I replied.

"Goodnight, my pet," Vlad said. I closed my phone and rested back against the sloped roof. It was a beautiful night and by the slight steam coming off my skin, I knew it wasn't too cold out.

O_O

"Daniel James Fenton-Foley-Calloway!" I was rudely pulled from my sleep and shot up. "Easy," the voice was more fearful. "Get back on this balcony!" It was Mom.

"I fell asleep," I said, standing up. I stretched and Mom began to stutter, trying to keep me from falling. I came up the slight incline and crossed over the railing. Behind her were Sam and Tucker with a mixture of amusement and anger expressions. They had their arms crossed and they were tense but at the same time, smiles were tugging on their faces and especially in their eyes.

"What on Earth were you doing on this roof," Mom declared, crossing her arms. There was absolutely no amusement in her expression. "Haven't I told you that was dangerous? Haven't I told you not to do that anymore? Do I need to put a passcode on the balcony so you can't get up here!"

"Mom," I whined. "I am perfectly fine up here. I just came up here last night so I could watch the stars. I come up here to think. I accidently fell asleep."

"What if you accidently fell, period," Mom declared. "Splat!"

"Please," I laughed. "That would be too anticlimactic!"

"It's not funny," Mom declared, cutting into my comment. "You could easily fall!"

"I'm just saying with everything in this world that is trying to kill me, that would be surprising," I replied. Of course, it was also impossible but I couldn't tell her about it. I looked at my watch. "We need to get ready for school. It is school, right?"

"Yes," Mom answered. "That's why I came into your room."

"I'm glad I wrote that note," I replied. "I was worried Sam and Tucker would wake up and wonder where I was. I never imagined I'd fall asleep and not be able to hear my alarm."

"I imagine you'd hear it," Tucker groaned out even as I thought it. My window is always open and I was directly above my room.

"You turned it off," I asked.

"Yeah," Sam replied. "I didn't want to have it going off when we weren't there. God knows what that noise would drive you to do!"

"Who knows," I agreed. "Thanks for waking me up," I said, kissing Mom's cheek, "and don't worry."

"I'll make breakfast," Mom replied, entering the house.

As soon as Mom was out of earshot, Sam turned to me, "Why did you leave last night?"

"I couldn't sleep," I replied. "I came out to watch the stars and, you know. I guess I got too sleepy."

"I thought you were tired," Sam demanded, sarcasm in her voice.

"Do I need to explain that," I groaned.

"No," Tucker said, rolling his eyes. "Like we didn't see through that when you said it."

"I didn't think so," I said. I walked in the house. I thanked my lucky stars that we didn't say anything incriminating when I heard footsteps retreating quickly. Mom was eavesdropping. "The little sneak!"

"What," they both asked me.

"Mom was listening," I declared. "She's running away right now!"

"We'll be more careful," Sam said, putting her hand on my shoulder.

"It may not matter," I sighed. "Mom is the smartest person in the world and I'm not exaggerating."

"We know," they both declared. We began our morning routines.

O_O

We were flying to school, invisible, when I felt a sharp pain. Sam and Tucker couldn't see me so they had no idea that I was under attack. I kept my mind locked on them, focusing on keeping them up in the air. I turned visible, looking for the ghost who had attacked me. I didn't get a ghost sense so who could it possibly be? "There you are, ghost. I knew I smelled the stench of the Earth!"

"Valerie," I declared, surprised that she had found me. "How did you know I was here?"

"I have my ways," she smiled evilly at me. "But you won't have to worry about this anymore. Because after this, you won't exist anymore!"

"What is it with people and trying to kill me," I declared. "Look, don't you have somewhere to be?"

"Not when there's scum of the Earth to eradicate," she declared.

"You don't like me. I got it," I groaned. "But I actually do have someplace to be. So, rain check?"

"What do you think," Valerie declared. She pulled out a weapon.

"I thought your dad didn't approve of this lifestyle," I asked as I prepared to dodge the attack. This has always been the way we've been.

"He doesn't," she declared, the memory angering her. "He stole my suit but thankfully, the apartment is small!"

"Look, I know you're upset about that and I really am sorry about what happened to you but it wasn't my fault. You just have to accept that."

"And you have to accept I'm done talking," she declared, aiming the weapon.

"Wait," I said as something occurred to me. Sam, Tucker, I sent out. Land!

_Why_, they both thought at the same time.

Things are about to get interesting, I replied as I spun around. That can't be good. Everything went black.

**AN: I am so excited for you to read the next chapter! I hope you are all suffering from major cliffhanger! Please drop me a line and check out the forum page. The New Beginnings Chapter Companion part I has been transferred and part II is up!**


	8. Chapter 8

**Disclaimer: I don't own Danny Phantom or Life Lessons.**

**Warning: This story contains reference to rape, sexual content, male sex and pedophilia. If any of this disturbs you, please do not read.**

**Chapter Eight: Whirlwind**

I woke up and groggily looked beside me. Valerie lay unconscious beside me, her hand and my hand cuffed together. "Val," I said, tiredly. "Valerie."

"Uh," Valerie groaned, bringing her shackled hand to her head. I know what she means. If headaches were a drink, mine would be a double. When her hand didn't reach when she expected it, she looked at it with a start. That got her attention. She stood up quickly, jerking me to my feet. "What the?"

"We've been kidnapped by Skulker," I replied, sighing. "This is not going to be easy," I said to myself. The show said this happened in the first season. I watched this episode a month ago with Star's little sisters. Why did the show put it so soon and it happen so late?

"What," Valerie declared, her fear captivating her. "Why?"

"You'll have to ask him that," I said, turning her in the right direction. She shrieked out terrifyingly. "What's the matter with you?"

"That's the ghost that has those rockets," she screamed. "Why does he have rockets?"

Instead of droning on and on with an explanation, I simply said: "He's a very small blob inside a very dangerous suit." I groaned, "How ya doing, Skulker?"

"I have good news and I have bad news," he said with an evil grin. "The bad news, I'm impressed with your fighting but I have no idea who is the better hunt. The good news, I shall submit you to a contest to determine who's pelt I shall hang. Winner gets the fireplace. Loser, the floor."

"How about we just go home," I declared. "You know how this always ends."

"Not this time, whelp. Can you beat me while having to work with your enemy?"

"I can beat you asleep," I declared. "I think I already have!"

"What do you want with me," Valerie demanded. "I'm no prisoner!"

"You are now," he grinned. "I'm offering you a head start, prey. I suggest you to take it."

Skulker pulled out a canon and Valerie screamed again.

"Oh, hush up," I declared. "Let's go. Those cannons can kill you, too!" We started running but she wasn't focused. She was too scared. "Valerie, less freaking! More running," I declared. I had to get her focused.

"I don't want to die," Valerie cried.

"Neither do I," I answered. "Just trust me and I can get you out of here."

"Where are my weapons," Valerie asked, her voice panicked again. "I can't summon my weapons."

"He stole them," I replied. I placed my hand beside me, already expecting the outcome. "He's blocking my powers as well."

"How," Valerie cried.

"He's highly advanced," I answered. "Just trust me."

Valerie's eyes lit up and I focused on the horizon. The end of Skulker's island came into sight. "He may have taken my weapons but I bet he didn't get that!"

"Valerie, wait," I cried. She would float but I would fall. I have no idea if she could carry my weight. I may be light but she's floating on thin air. Can she support the additional thirty pounds I estimate I weigh? Not to mention we would be chopped liver once he caught us. Human's floating can't compare to ghostly flight.

She leapt off the ground and I forced my eyes open again. Her sledge board was firmly beneath our feet as we began to soar into the Zone. "Told you!"

"That was a lucky break," I told her. "But good job."

"I don't need your approval," she shot at me. "I should make you carry yourself."

"Believe me, I would if I could," I replied. "But I can't fly without my powers."

"Tough break," Valerie said, sarcastic. She was flying about aimlessly.

"How about asking me where to go," I replied. I knew where we were but if she kept proceeding this way, it would become difficult for me to know where we were.

"Because I don't want your help," she shot. "I can find my own way!"

"Not going this way," I declared. "Do you see that vortex? It just keeps going on infinitely!"

"Shut up," she shot at me.

"You're dragging me into this mess, too, you know! I think I have a say," I declared. How did my cartoon-self deal with her? Stupidly, I started looking between us. They had a flour sack that they had to care for as an assignment but we didn't get that sack because Skulker took us earlier than he did on the show. That can't be good.

"Well, I say you don't," she shot back at me. "Now shut up or get off!"

"I don't think you'd enjoy that," I said, my voice dropping as I settled in for the long ride. "I know I wouldn't."

O_O

Valerie got tired of flying so she landed on the ground. Yeah, because we'll get out by landing. She picked up a rock and started to slam it against our bond. "I can't believe I'm stuck with you!"

"It isn't fun for me, either," I answered.

"This has just been the most horrible time," Valerie declared, still banging the rock. "You have no idea how bad my life has been since you showed up!"

"Believe me," I groaned. I picked up a rock. "In turns," I asked.

"Why not," she said. She sounded less than enthusiastic.

I swung the rock and she followed it. I swung, she swung and it played out like that within seconds of each other. "My life has hardly been a fairy tale."

"Your life is over," Valerie barked. "What have you got to look forward to?"

"The rest of eternity," I said sarcastically. "Chances are, you'll die and your worries will cease. My life has no end short of oblivion. My hell will never cease."

"This is your fault," she declared. This was a defense mechanism. She yells and blames others when she feels like she's losing control. To her, no ghost can be experiencing problems of their own. They cause problems; they're not having problems.

"You know that isn't so," I declared. I lost my temper and I didn't mean to. I paused to calm my anger, "Skulker is doing this. This is his sick idea of a game."

"Why do you have to hang around," she asked me, her voice sharp. "Why must you flaunt yourself in my face?"

"I'm not flaunting anything," I declared. Damn it, Fenton, get a grip! "I just want to keep this town safe. You can't do it alone. No one can do it alone."

"You're not protecting anyone," Valerie declared. "You're responsible for this mess."

"I don't deny that," I replied. "But I can't just leave and it'll disappear. If that were so, believe me, I would be gone. I don't care about the adoration. I don't care about the fame. I care about the lives of everyone in that city."

"I don't believe that propaganda so you can stop the act," she spat.

"It's not an act," I said softly. "This is my fault. I opened the portal and forced the doorway open. I can't stop it and the ghosts won't stop escaping because I'm gone. While you're asleep, I'm out there dealing with the real threats. The ghosts you fight and see aren't the real problems this town faces. They're just here to have fun!"

"Fun," Valerie declared. "I hardly call destroying the town fun."

"I agree," I replied. "But they do find it fun. They only scare the citizens and feed on their fear. The ghosts at night are the true scums of the Earth. They're the ones who seek blood and true destruction. These ghosts will kill without blinking. They desire suffering."

"What do you desire," she asked, not believing me.

"Peace," I said.

"Oh, please," she spat.

"Believe what you want," I said, slamming the rock harder as I tried to control my temper. "You may think I'm the worse the Ghost Zone has to offer and I hope to God you always do. If you ever find anyone convincing enough to show you the truth, it will be too late!" The rock shattered under my hand. "Damn!"

"If we can escape, we can get these things off." She summoned the sledge board under her feet and we were hovering again.

"Will you listen to me," I asked. "I am a ghost! This is the Ghost Zone!"

"Fine," Valerie said. "I guess you want us to go back."

"That is the way out of here," I replied. "I've visited that area multiple times."

"Okay," she sighed. She started to zoom towards the front of the Zone.

O_O

As she controlled the board, I was studying the bracelets. There was no key hole and they glowed. With my experience in weaponry, I think I know what this thing is.

"Val," I said. "I think we need to go back to Skulker's Island." I paused for a minute but I knew she would have questions. "Look at this thing. I've seen inventions like this. They absorb energy. It's like trying to break rubber with a hammer. It can't be done. However, this material is harder than steel. There are no key holes. Only Skulker will have the power to release us."

"I'm sure he'll gladly do that," Val replied. She looked back up and gasped. I looked up and Skulker was approaching rapidly. Valerie pushed the sledge down, trying to escape Skulker's approach. Skulker started to laugh manically.

"You make it too easy, ghost child. Why retreat further into the Ghost Zone? Didn't you realize you would have to turn around and retrace your steps?"

"Head for a door," I cried. "They're separate realms that sometimes lead to other dimensions!"

"And that's good," Val cried.

"It's better than where we are," I cried. I turned my head to look in his direction and dread instantly filled my being. I knew I shouldn't have gotten complacent. Skulker fired the gun, holding the paralyses dart. There was no way to keep us both safe and since Val needed to steer, I had to take it. I thought I would be spared the embarrassment.

The dart struck my skin and the poison filled my veins. I've been numb for majority of my half-ghost life but this was completely different. Feeling exploded in my veins but I couldn't move. The thought of warning Valerie of my predicament crossed my mind—at the moment I started to fall. She yelped as she was forced to fall with me. Luckily, she managed to pull out of the surely disastrous outcome.

"What the hell, Phantom," she declared. "Get up!"

"I can't move," I said, my lungs trying to work. So much pain flooded my system, my human form tried to force its way out. I shoved the urge back down and tried to force on forgetting to breath. If I thought about human things, I tried to turn human. It wasn't a trigger but it was a leading cause. "Skulker fired a tranquilizer dart. I got the business end of it."

"Great," she hissed. "Now I have to pull your weight as well!"

Be quiet, Danny. Be quiet. She focused on another door and flew towards it. Please let that stupid train-thing be at the first door she looked at. She flung open the door and her shriek told me all I needed to know. The door slammed shut. "Maybe we should just forget the doors," I replied. "I only tried to prevent this."

"Works for me," she replied. "What do we do to get whatever opens this thing?" She rattled the chain.

"Head back to his island," I replied. "He'll think we're heading for the exit and the move will surprise him."

"If you say so," she groaned. We sped up.

O_O

I was slowly transforming. My lungs had returned and I was breathing laboriously and my heartbeat had started but it was weak. The only good news was my blood was circulating and causing the poison to speed it's progress through my body. Because I was still healing rapidly, any harm occurring to my organs from the poison was healing. The pain was starting to fade away and I took that to mean the poison was receding. I continued to hope so because soon we would have to face Skulker and she couldn't do it alone.

"I'm going to try to move," I warned her, slowly moving my arms to the board. The pain returned instantly but I stuffed it away. My arms started to shake as I tried to place weight on them. I forced my weight on my arms and they buckled but I forced them back up. I lifted myself up, biting my tongue as I sent some commands to my knees. I slowly brought them up.

I sent some of the weight on my arms to my knees and they too started to shake. I didn't lose the progress I made this time, though, and I came to a crawling position. I brought my legs forward and came to a full stand. I wobbled but I forced myself to remain standing.

"Hey," Valerie called sarcastically, "you're going to make yourself useful."

"I'll try," I replied, adding my own sarcasm in. "I won't allow you to go through this alone. We'll need to work together. We both don't have anything other than our physical strength to push us through. Skulker isn't an easy one to beat with all my powers. I'll have to rely on physical strength to beat him without any powers."

"Not to mention we're bound together," Valerie said, holding up our wrists.

"How can I forget," I asked, lowering my voice.

"What's your plan," she asked me.

"Brute force," I replied. "Once you knock off his head, he's done for."

"You've killed before," Valerie declared.

"No," I shot back. "I told you he was a tiny blob. His control station is in the head so remove the head and he can't function."

"And how do you plan on getting that close to him," she asked me, her voice critical.

"I don't know yet," I replied. "I'm still making this up."

O_O

We landed on the island and took cover. I watched Skulker come to a stop just overhead. He looked down in surprise. "Interesting choice, ghost child, but it's a fatal one."

"How did he know we were down here," Valerie whispered ridiculously low.

I rolled my eyes. "He sensed us and now he's heard us," I replied, my voice level.

"Hush," she declared, her voice harsh. "Now he has!"

"Ghosts have super hearing," I declared. "The best and only chance you have is to remain perfectly quiet!"

"Welcome back," Skulker grinned evilly at us.

"Let's do it," I called as I charged towards Skulker.

"Wait," Valerie cried as I dragged her. "Human's can't touch ghosts!"

I focused on hitting Skulker, "Him you can!" We both slammed into Skulker, causing him to fly backwards and scream. "His suit is from your world. I have to focus to hit him!"

"Cool," Valerie said, her voice going low. "This is going to be good."

"Just be careful," I warned. "While most objects from the Ghost Zone can't hurt you, his weapons can because they're not from the Ghost Zone." I'm not sure if his weapons can hurt me or not. He's already shot me with a paralysis dart. I'm not looking forward to another encounter like that.

"Don't worry about me, ghost. I'm going to make him pay for what he's done!"

We charged back at Skulker, Valerie taking over. She had a lot of pent up frustration and I was struggling not to drag her down. Since I was still attached to her, I was right there by Skulker as Valerie engaged in combat with him. Out in the open was the key. It looks like a trap so there's a good chance that it is. I need to grab it while he's occupied.

Valerie had Skulker engaged and he was so overwhelmed that, I hope, he hasn't realized that he could turn intangible. I know good and well that this could have been his plan all along so I am taking all precautions. I snatched my free hand over his belt and tucked the key in the groove of my glove. Skulker roared at that moment, grabbing the cuffs binding us. Valerie gasped but growled after the initial shock.

"Enough," Skulker roared. "It is time we finish this!"

"I agree," I yelled as I tore my arm over the cuffs. I pray that this works. The shackles opened and we dropped to the ground. I grabbed Valerie's hand and rolled us away from him.

"What," Skulker roared.

"Let go of me," Valerie screamed, ripping her arm from my hand. I didn't object.

I brought up my ghost energy, "Now we finish this!"

"How did you get that key, whelp," Skulker roared.

"You underestimated me," I said cockily. Skulker roared as I shot the blast at him. Now it was my turn to release some pent up anger. "Valerie," I called. "Power down your suit and power it back up! That will return all your weapons so long as you have all the components of the trigger!"

"What," Valerie screamed. "I'm not exposing myself that way!"

"It's the only chance that you have," I screamed as I kicked Skulker. "He's ticked off now. If he shoots a rocket at you, you could die!"

"Fine," Valerie barked. I knew it was asking a lot of her. I don't know if I could do that if the same thing was required of me. But I know her identity and Skulker could care less. She's already exposed if Skulker takes aim at her.

I reengaged in the battle with Skulker where he landed and began to fight him again. Skulker managed to pull a cannon out and before I could deflect the blast, I was sent flying in the opposite direction. I landed on my back, staring up at the black and green sky in shock. This is one of the very few battles I've had in the Ghost Zone and it was still surprising to hit a hard surface without being prepared for it.

I forced myself to my feet, rocketing some blasts at Skulker and successfully taking out the cannon. Skulker pulled out another one but I managed to shoot it out too. Skulker finally charged at me, having no other weapons strong enough to take me out from a distance. I've been waiting for this.

I sent a kick, successfully stopping his procession. I sent another kick, amputating his partly severed arm. I did a back kick, catching his other arm in its ball joint. The surprise sent him crashing to the ground. I pressured my leg down, squashing the metal arm like a tin can under my foot. I used my other to kick at his socket, completely severing his last good arm.

Skulker roared as he admitted defeat. I used my arm to whack his head off his shoulders. I summoned my thermos and sucked the bottom portion of his suit inside. I walked over to his head and pulled the small blob from the helmet. "See, Valerie," I called. I turned in her direction, displaying the tiny Skulker. "This is the real Skulker."

Valerie's face was hallow, her body turned in on itself. I sighed, knowing I made a mistake. I placed Skulker on the palm of my hand and used my finger to kick him like a paper football. I sucked the head in the thermos and returned it to my backpack on my human form. I took a step forward but Valerie took a fearful step back.

"I won't hurt you," I said softly. "I've never tried to hurt you."

"You could kill me," Valerie said, her eyes still holding no light. "Why have you never done that when we have fought?"

"Do you think that I want to hurt you," I asked. "I've told you. I only want to help. Sure, I could do a lot worse but then what would that make me?"

"A monster," Valerie said, her voice going hard. Finally, a darker light filled her eyes.

"Let's get out of here," I replied. "Sorry for this," I replied as I turned intangible. I overshadowed her, flying towards the portal.

O_O

I wasn't a foot from Skulker's island when the Specter Speeder appeared on the distant horizon. I smirked but steadily continued. The Specter Speeder slowed down, whoever driving it surprised to find Valerie Gray in the Ghost Zone. As much as I didn't want it to be true, I hoped it was Sam and Tucker. My parents being in the Ghost Zone would be bad.

I phased us through the Specter Speeder and sure enough, Sam and Tucker were staring at us in surprise. "It's me," I said, using my voice. They instantly relaxed.

"What happened," Sam asked. "We pulled out the tracker after your message was cut off but we couldn't find you. What happened and what is she doing here?"

"Valerie attacked me on the way to school," I explained. "I guess she has a ghost locator and that can detect even an invisible ghost. Skulker attacked us and took us to his island. He shackled us with some cuffs that canceled out my powers. That's probably what blocked the signal."

"Okay," Tucker said. "Next time you come up missing and I can't find you, I'm paying Skulker a visit. Are you okay?"

"Oh, I'm fine," I replied. "Valerie's been scared the hell out of, though."

"Why," Sam asked, furrowing her brow.

"She watched me destroy Skulker's suit," I groaned. "She's realized that if I wanted to, I could really do some damage."

"Good," Tucker barked. "Maybe she'll leave you alone now."

"It's not good," Sam shot in his direction. Tucker started to turn the Specter Speeder around. "She could see Danny as a bigger threat now and have even more reasons to destroy him!"

"It's nothing to worry about," I replied. "Her suit may be high tech, but it's not as powerful as I am. I can take care of myself. I just need to watch her and make sure she doesn't hurt herself while she's…"

"She's trying to hurt you," Tucker retorted. "Forget about her. She's nothing but trouble!"

"She's a human being," I retorted. "She's a resident of our town. Like it or not, but when we took the oath to protect the town, we included her."

"My loyalty rests with you, not with this town," Tucker said.

I sat down on one of the benches in the back. "Then do as I do," I said. "If I can forgive her, you should be able to."

"That's the problem," Sam said, turning in my direction. "You forgive too easily. We're harder to convince." She turned back around. "That's weird."

"No weirder than anything else we've done," I replied. "Why aren't you guys in school?"

"Danny, you told us that things were going to get interesting and then your power abruptly stopped. We couldn't reach you, we tried calling you, we tried tracking you. And you want to know why we're not in school!"

"Where else would we be," Tucker asked me from the front seat.

"You should be in school," I replied. I settled into the cushion, though, knowing they were absolutely right. With the way I left things, no matter how much I disliked it, where else would they be?

O_O

Sam and Tucker waited for me a few feet beside the school as I dropped Valerie off. I released her from my control and waited for her to come to. Valerie finally looked at me with alarm in her eyes. "I brought you here," I explained softly.

"How," Valerie snapped, looking around the yard. "How did we get out of that Ghost World?"

"It's a Zone," I corrected. "It's definitely a Zone," I repeated. "I possessed you. I didn't want to have any more arguments. I'm sorry to invade your personal space like that."

"Give me one reason I shouldn't tear you apart," she declared.

"That's entirely up to you," I replied. "But escaping is entirely up to me. And I would if you tried."

"Thanks," she said, her voice muffled as she struggled with the word. "But don't think this will last! I still believe you are a menace."

"That's your right," I said, nodding my head. "Good afternoon, Val."

Valerie started up the stairs as Sam and Tucker came from behind the wall of the school. "Oh," Tucker groaned, "If anyone's a menace, it's her!"

"Why do you take that," Sam declared. "Why don't you defend yourself?"

"What could I do to convince her I'm not the bad guy that I already haven't tried," I replied. I triggered the rings, powering down to my human form. "The last chance I have of ever convincing her is to show her. It won't be easy and I knew that from the beginning."

We entered the school and slowly walked the halls. I had no idea what period it was but it shouldn't be hard to figure out. We picked our books up and headed for the Home Ec. class. Maybe this will turn out better than the episode's version of this day. Maybe Valerie and I could actually pass this with more than a C.

O_O

"Nice for you to join us," Mrs. Tetslaff said, her voice sarcastic. "It was assumed you wouldn't show up for any classes today."

Valerie stood at the front of the desk when we came inside, her face displaying the discomfort the attention was causing.

"Sorry," Sam said, but even Mrs. Tetslaff wouldn't miss the sarcasm. "We're here now, so can we go to our desks or are you going to drag this out longer."

"Not this time, Miss Manson," Mrs. Tetslaff barked. "You four have been caught skipping class. You may think Miss Gray's earlier return would throw me off but it didn't. I will see all four of you in the gym during lunch!"

"Excuse me," Tucker said, crossing his arms. "We were so not skipping especially not with her!"

"Tucker's right," I said. "I don't know where Valerie was. She wasn't with us."

"So Miss Gray came in just moments before you three," Mrs. Tetslaff said, her voice sarcastic, "But you weren't together."

"That's right," I said. The students in the room were eerily quiet. Most of the students didn't dare to anger Mrs. Tetslaff and even Valerie was showing this. Sam, Tucker and I were challenging her and it was a tense moment.

"I said you will see me in lunch tomorrow," Mrs. Tetslaff roared inches from my face. I remained unfazed. Several gasps filled the classroom.

"Fine," I said. "I'll see you in lunch but you're incriminating an innocent girl. Did you even ask Valerie were she was?"

"I don't need to wonder," she said, her breathing labored. She was infuriated that her outburst didn't affect me.

"Then you're ignorant," Sam said, crossing her arms across her chest.

"That's giving her the benefit of the doubt," Tucker said, walking towards his desk.

"I did not dismiss you," Mrs. Tetslaff roared.

"And I didn't ask to be dismissed," Tucker shot back. Sam and I both followed Tucker back.

"Are you three trying to get thrown out of my classroom?"

"I'm about to walk out of it on my own free will," Sam barked. "But I figure this would be more humiliating."

We pulled our books out but I couldn't keep my eyes off Valerie. She stood paralyzed by Mrs. Tetslaff desk, terrified of angering the woman. How is it she can face a ghost but be afraid of the big-mouthed woman? Maybe it's because she truly hasn't faced an evil ghost and the only two she has, she had no idea how evil they were.

I stood up and walked to the front. I gently wrapped my arm around her waist, giving a playful tug. "Come on," I said, my voice soft. "She's nothing to be worried about."

Valerie fearfully took a step away but eventually, she became empowered. I led her to the corner of the classroom where we always sat and pulled an empty desk over to our connected chairs. "Are you sure," Valerie asked, her cheeks slightly burning. Does my touch embarrass her? I removed my hand just in case it did make her uncomfortable.

"Of course," I replied. "You deserve friends, Valerie, and I want you to know that if you want, I'll be your friend."

"I'd like that," Valerie said, bowing her head. Doesn't look like it? Looks like you're embarrassed to be around me. "But I don't think your friends would like it."

I looked to my friends and Sam and Tucker had their arms crossed across their chests. I sighed, "No. They have been a little protective about who we allow in our small bubble but I promise you, you will always be welcome where I am."

"Danny," Sam hissed.

"Quiet," I instructed. "You guys are being too overprotective! There's nothing that we are doing that we need to worry about Valerie discovering."

"Oh, yeah," Tucker said, sarcastically, "Nothing at all."

"Quiet," I instructed to Tucker. "I'll get through to them. Until then, you can hang out with me."

"Thanks," Valerie smiled. "You're the one I'd like to hang out with anyway."

I saw it this time. She wasn't turning red from embarrassment, she was blushing. I put my hand on my chin as I realized this, blushing myself. Valerie blushed harder as she realized I spotted it. If this had happened anywhere but Amity Park, I would have noticed the move instantly. I opened my book without knowing what chapter we would be studying today. I was too embarrassed to continue to look at her. Valerie was a beautiful woman.

"Oh, please," Tucker groaned as he sunk down in the desk. _You don't like her! You're not jealous, you're protective. Danny! Not Valerie!_

I chuckled inwardly. He could deny it all he wanted but I knew it without hearing his thoughts. Tucker still liked Valerie, he has just become conflicted. In his mind, he can't like Valerie because she attacks me. Funny how we've reversed roles since November. Back then, I was the one telling him it was a bad idea to include Valerie in our bubble. Now, I know the madness in that assessment. Now, I'm stronger.

"Well, class, we are starting a week long project. You've already paired up so now, I'll tell you the assignment." She turned around to, no doubt, grab the flour sack. She carted it over to Paulina and Dash, keeping the sack hidden, "Congratulations, you two. You are now the proud parents of a baby girl."

It wasn't a sack. I was truly astonished. It was a baby doll. Dash was the first to display his displeasure, "Oh, come on! I have to carry a stupid doll around for a week!"

"Yes, Mr. Baxter. Your daughter will need the attention of both of you." She started to distribute the dolls out but she purposely left us four out. I started to get a sinking feeling. "Since you four decided to skip majority of the day, I have decided to exclude you from this assignment. You will receive an F for your hijinks today."

"What," I declared as my anger spiked. "You can't do that! We came to your class!"

"Yeah, but with your insider information, you could have known about the assignment. I'm not allowing you to get away with this."

"You've got to be kidding me," I declared, standing up. "I knew nothing about this assignment!" Okay, that's a lie but I didn't learn it from my Spanish class so I'll allow it. "You've gone too far, Tetslaff!"

"Well, that's my decision," Mrs. Tetslaff said, her arms crossed across her chest. "What are you going to do about it?"

"I'll show you what I'm going to do about it," I declared. I pulled out my cell phone and called Julie. "Get me the US Department of Education in DC."

"Sure thing," her voice broadcast across the speakerphone. I was too angry. I would let the entire class hear this. "Connecting, sir."

The US Department of Education's hotline came over the line and I was easily connected to the secretary. Mrs. Tetslaff eyes widened when he called me sir when I said who I was.

"Could you call the District Thirteen and instruct the Superintendent to place a Shelly Tetslaff on administrative leave," I asked. I locked eyes with her as I awaited his answer.

"You know that I could, sir," he replied. "Why are you asking me?"

"I'm just making a point," I replied. "You're on speakerphone and the said teacher is in the room. I'm just giving her fair warning."

"This is a prank," Mrs. Tetslaff cried.

"Oh, no, ma'am. It is not a prank. Mr. Radar has the highest protocol. If he so wishes, I would have your license."

"Now," I said, facing her. "Are you going to change your mind about that?"

"Fine," Mrs. Tetslaff cried. "I don't believe that is the secretary of Education but you've proven your point." She walked to the front of the classroom and picked up the two dolls. "Manson, Foley; you two are the proud parents of a baby girl. Gray, Fenton; you are the proud parents of a baby boy!"

"Thank you," I replied. "And thank you, sir. I shall tell Samuels of your contribution."

"Any time, sir. Anything," he replied.

"Goodbye," I said.

"Have a good afternoon," he replied. I disconnected the line.

"You shouldn't have included them in that," I said, my voice low. I hate to say it, but if she forced me and Valerie to take F's, I might not have thrown such a fit but don't mess with Sam and Tucker. That's where she made her mistake.

"Don't think you've won this battle, Mr. Fenton," Mrs. Tetslaff spat.

"Don't think this was even a battle, Mrs. Tetslaff," I returned. "If it was, it would have been more bloody."

O_O

Valerie offered to take the baby doll for the next period and we agreed to meet up at Mr. Lancer's classroom. I would take the baby until I would see her tonight at the Nasty Burger before Patrol. Everyone knew we were always at the Nasty Burger by five-fifty and most times, we were there at five-forty-five.

Halfway through music, I got a ghost sense. I left the classroom without asking for permission and the teacher was only partly surprised. I actually returned to class, though, and that did successfully surprise her. I hadn't been to class all day and the only other class I had visited turned out to be a disaster. I had nothing against Mrs. Stone so I decided to come back.

At the end of the day, I went to Mr. Lancer's classroom. I was the first there of course so I walked inside to meet Mr. Lancer. "I see you stuck around for Mrs. Stone's class on the first day back," Mr. Lancer greeted me. "Where were you this morning?"

"We had business to tend to," I replied. "Sam, Tuck and I were called out on the way to school this morning. I can get an excuse if you need one."

"You've got an excuse already," Mr. Lancer said, his voice level. "I just want to know where you three were."

Sam and Tucker walked into the classroom at that moment and joined me at the front of the room. "Hey guys," I greeted.

"You have any problems," Tucker asked me.

"Just one," I replied as I took a seat. "I took care of it."

"Everything okay," Sam asked.

"Oh, yeah," I replied. "It was barely a four."

"Just one," Tucker asked.

"That was it," I smirked. "Hey, Mr. Lancer. What did we miss in your classes?"

"Music," Mr. Lancer frowned. "Absolutely nothing. What happened with Mrs. Tetslaff?"

"We came in late and because she teaches gym before that, she knew we hadn't been there all day. She thought we skipped and threatened to give us an F for the assignment this week. I called the Secretary of Education in Washington, DC and showed her what happens when you mess with Sam and Tucker."

"What about you," Sam asked. "It's not like you could take an F."

"I have more important things to worry about," I replied. "Failing is the less of my issues although it is highly undesired. I couldn't imagine facing my parents."

"Danny," Sam said, her voice disapproving. "You have more to offer than this."

"You should fear failing, Mr. Fenton. You would have to repeat it again next year," Mr. Lancer spoke calmly.

"I have been considering dropping out," I said, more to my friends. "I enjoyed last week more than I thought I would. Just think about what happened this morning."

"I'm up for it," Tucker replied. "We don't need school."

"You can't drop out of school until you're seventeen," Mr. Lancer declared.

"You two must stay in school," I said, ignoring Lancer. "This would just involve me."

"We're with you," Sam declared. "No matter where life takes us!"

A knock came to the door, "Danny," Valerie spoke softly. "You ready to take it?"

"Yeah," I replied. I stood up and went to the door. "I'll see you tonight to discuss the schedule tomorrow."

"Okay," Valerie replied. "You'll take the doll until tonight when I take it. Deal?"

"Deal," I answered, taking the doll by its arm. It started to cry loudly. "What the? It's motion sensitive?" I picked it up the right way and started to rock it gently. "This is crazy!"

"Tell me about it," Sam and Tucker both groaned in unison.

"I should have told you," Valerie apologized. "It cried nonstop in my last class. It'll drive you nuts."

"It'll be good practice," I grumbled. I smirked at Valerie. "I'll see you tonight."

"Okay. See you tonight, Danny," Valerie smiled at me. She turned and walked out of the room.

"Is there something going on between the two of you," Mr. Lancer smirked.

"No," Sam and Tucker both declared, both equally more determined to prove him otherwise. I looked in Sam's direction with a puzzled look.

"Okay, I get Tuck but why would you act like that, Sam," I asked.

"She's trouble, Danny," Sam said, her voice hard. "You should leave her alone."

"She's already alone," I stated firmly. "She has no one her age, guys. What's the harm?"

"Oh, I don't know," Tucker said sarcastically, "she could get in the way!"

"She could discover our secrets," Sam backed him up.

"Anything," they declared in unison.

"I've told you," I retorted, "There's no harm in befriending her!"

"This is crazy," Tucker declared. "Are you concerned for your life at all?"

"No he's not," Sam replied, her voice sharp. "He's only concerned with the lives of everyone else."

"Of course I'm concerned with my life, guys," I groaned. "But there's no reason to be concerned when Val's involved."

"Are the three of you involved in something dangerous," Mr. Lancer asked, alarmed.

"No, Mr. Lancer," I sighed. "Sam and Tucker are just paranoid. They're being rhetoric."

"I still think it's a bad idea," Sam grumbled, sinking in the seat.

I propped my head upon the palm of my hand, "Well, I think she needs somebody. Who else would treat her with respect?"

"If she deserved respect," Tucker began.

"Oh, don't give me that," I shot at him. I looked in his direction, lying my arm down. "You can deny it all you want but I know you care about her. Even love her!"

"I do not," Tucker objected. "I lost all feelings for her a long time ago."

"Yeah, well I have proof otherwise," I playfully retorted. "We never stop loving our first crush. Believe me."

"Now that would be a smart thing for one of us to do," Tucker declared. "You know what I'm talking about."

"Yes, I know what you are talking about and so do you," I declared. "You like her! I heard you in Mrs. Tetslaff's class. You were furious that I was getting close to her."

"I was not," Tucker denied, his voice rising. "I just didn't want her that close to you!"

"You don't need to worry about me," I declared.

"Can we go, Mr. Lancer," Sam asked, cutting Tucker off. I silently thanked her with a nod. We could keep that argument going on for all eternity.

"Not yet," Mr. Lancer replied. "I want to check your other teachers to see if they got anything done. Mr. Fenton, you need to check with Mrs. Baker and see if she assigned anything for your Spanish class."

"Okay," I replied. I doubted that she would have. I'll just have to apologize for missing the class without giving her any warning. It's not like I could help it but I still feel guilty.

Mr. Lancer opened his desk drawer and pulled out a small packet, "Here's the make-up test's study guide. I want you to study hard, Mr. Fenton."

"I will," I said, standing up. I took the packet he held out for me. "May we be excused now?"

"Yes," Mr. Lancer said. "Just make sure to visit your teachers. I don't want you falling behind."

"I'm going to do that anyway," I grumbled as Sam and Tucker joined me. Sam handed me the baby doll while Tucker packed theirs. "Thanks."

"No problem," Sam said. "Let's go to our other classes."

"Fifth period first," I said. "Then we'll meet up at Mr. Fuluka's class."

"Okay," Sam said. We walked out of the classroom and went our separate ways.

O_O

We were walking home with absolutely no homework to our names except the stupid dolls. Tucker had it lucky. He could pack that doll by the leg and it wouldn't cry but if I held it too close to my body, it screamed. I was trying to calm it down again but it just seemed inconsolable. I was losing my mind.

"Here," Sam said, taking the baby. "I think I know what's wrong." She started to rock it and it finally started to calm down. "Your temperature, Danny. You're nearly two hundred degrees and this baby is meant to be sensitive to these kinds of things. You're burning him."

"Great," I grumbled. "I'll have to get one of Mom's insulated blankets so I can carry the doll."

"I can take care of him," Sam said, bouncing it in her arms.

"See something you want," Tucker teased her.

"Yeah," Sam smiled softly. "Can't you imagine it? Having a little half ghost baby."

I smiled softly at Sam, "You are an amazing mother."

"You've seen my children," Sam said, her eyes snapping up.

"Yes," I replied. "I've seen all of our children."

"Well," Tucker said. "Spill!"

I breathed out as I tried to think of what I could say about my children, "Jazz is married to someone from outside the town and has three children: a boy and twins: one boy, one girl." I chuckled, "Tucker gets married and has only one child, a girl. Sam is married and has three children although I have had hints of a set of twins in mid-life."

"What about you," Sam asked me. Tucker started grinning wildly at me.

"My future is changing constantly," I said, my voice soft. "I've had dreams of having four children, six children and just one."

"Wow," Sam said. "Why such the dramatic change?"

"I don't know," I lied. "I guess I'll learn my future when it's the present."

"That's all anyone can do," Tucker smirked. We continued walking down the streets, no one around the tiny neighborhood.

"What do you say we fly the rest of the way home," I said, coming to a stop.

"You know our answer," Sam said, sending me a glance as she came to a stop.

Tucker turned around, "What's took you so long?"

I opened their minds and they disappeared. I floated up in the air, turning invisible as well. "You up, Tuck?"

"Almost," Tucker said, his voice strained.

"You're not swimming no matter how similar they may be," I reminded him. "Feel the weightlessness."

"Thanks," Tucker said, his voice more even this time. "I got it."

"Good," I smiled. I started to fly at a steady pace.

"Now if only he can remember to do that every time," Sam said, her voice playful.

"I'll get it," Tucker retorted. "I just need some time."

"Five months isn't enough time," Sam laughed. "Sorry."

"Be nice, Sam," I playfully scolded. "It's not like he's using his own powers. I'm still fueling them."

"I got it easy enough," Sam playfully retorted.

"Yeah, well you could outdo us all," I defended Tucker. "You can't be fairly judged against us."

"And why is that," Sam demanded. She didn't sound playful anymore.

"Come on, Sam," I replied, "You have always been the smartest of us. If we had received powers together, you would have out preformed me!"

"True," Sam said, her voice returning to its normal volume. "Sorry."

"No problem," I replied. I saw the top of the ops center come into view. "Finally!"

"You want to go home," Tucker asked, surprised.

"I just don't want to be on the clock," I retorted. "I'm tired of being pressed for time. I much enjoyed the week off!"

"I know what you mean," Sam sighed. "It gets so frustrating when we're at school. At least when we're not at school, we can pace ourselves."

"Exactly," I agreed.

"Why don't we do what you were talking about," Tucker stated.

"What's that," I asked.

"Quit school," Tucker replied. I landed on the ground as Sam and Tucker became visible again.

"You guys are getting faster," I replied, turning visible myself. "You can't quit school."

"Why not," Sam asked as she opened the door with her free hand. "We could turn half ghost and our human forms would disappear."

"We could even get our high school diplomas at private schools," Tucker replied. "The Manson's have been trying to get Sam to go to a private school. We could even get permission!"

"The Manson's have been trying to get you to go to a private school," I asked, worried.

"Yeah," Sam sighed, "But it's given Tucker an idea and I've actually thought it wasn't such a bad idea."

"Just 'picking' up and leaving but really living here as our half ghost forms," I asked in disbelief.

"Think about it," Tucker objected. "We stay out of the way. We'd have the monitor to keep track of the activity and we could possibly avoid that illness that you dreamed of. Our human forms would be at our schools and our parents would never suspect anything. It could work!"

"It could," I said, thinking it over. "Would you guys really be interested in this?"

"Yes," Tucker declared.

"Absolutely," Sam agreed.

I paused at the stairs to look at them. "This would be a big change," I said.

"Come on, Danny," Tucker cried. "We are always so overloaded! If we picked up and left, think of all the problems automatically solved!"

"Kids," Mom's voice came from the kitchen. Footfalls began to fill the room. "Hold on for a second. I need to talk to you guys."

"What," I asked, turning on the stairs to face the direction she would be coming from.

"I got a phone call today," Mom began. She finally came into the room, stopping in the mists of our circle. "I called Alice and she said she got a similar call so I assume the same goes for you, too, Sam. Sam and Tucker, how are your grades?"

Sam and Tucker shrunk, knowing that their grades were suffering. I knew mine were on the verge of death so I didn't become embarrassed.

"I thought so," Mom sighed. "Mr. Lancer called me this morning. He told me that the Regional Board of Education has ordered that the school go year round. Those with a C or higher would be exempt but he confirmed that Danny would have to attend Summer School and Alice confirmed the same."

"What," we three declared.

"I'm afraid so," Mom said, bowing her head. "I don't know what you're going to do about camp this year, but you have to go to summer school or fail ninth grade. You will be going, young man!"

"How can they do this," Tucker declared.

"The entire school is failing," Mom declared. "The Regional Superintendent is furious!"

"Isn't there anything you could do," Sam asked.

"Yes," Mom answered, "but I don't see what good that would do. We need to find a way to better guard the school."

"Unbelievable," I declared. "We couldn't transfer to another school without failing ninth grade, could we?"

"No," Mom said, confused. "Why?"

"My parents were trying to get me to transfer to a private school," Sam sighed. "We were thinking about transferring to a private school but not telling my parents that Danny and Tucker were going to the same school!"

"What," Mom roared. "Not a bad idea but no! My children aren't going anywhere!" We smirked at her but since she wasn't saying anything more, we started up the steps. "Uh, Danny? A word."

"Just me," I asked, turning around.

"Just you," Mom said. I nodded to Sam and Tucker and they reluctantly continued to climb the stairs. I could hear them stop just at the top of the stairs. They were still within earshot.

"Yes, Mom," I asked, shoving my hands in my pockets.

"Where were you today," Mom said, crossing her arms over her chest. "Like I said, I talked to Mr. Lancer."

"Oh," I said, looking down. "I forgot to do something last week and we went to my office. I made it back to school after lunch."

"You actually did go to school today," Mom said, her eyes still hard. "When Mr. Lancer told me you weren't in school, where do you think was the first place I called."

My face paled and I swallowed hard. "I did have something to do but I can't tell you what it was. I promise you I wouldn't have missed school if it wasn't important."

"Just don't lie to me again," Mom said, uncrossing her arms. She rubbed my back affectionately. "I don't want to lose my baby."

I smiled at her, "I may lie to you but know it's for the best. No matter how distant I may be, I will always be your baby."

"You don't have to lie," Mom declared. "You can tell me anything."

"I love you," I said instead. I kissed her cheek and moved up the stairs. Mom's sigh came from behind me. "I need to be more careful!"

"Tell me about it," Sam said, holding the doll closer to her. "Next time, don't be so precise. Just say you had something to do."

"Why don't you just tell her," Tucker complained.

"Because I don't want to lose her," I said, moving past them towards my room.

"You won't lose her," Tucker objected. "I promise you she would accept you!"

"I can't take that chance," I whispered. I opened the door to my room and went inside.

I tossed my backpack on my desk and moved over to my bed. I heard Sam and Tucker do the same before they too rested on my bed. I picked up my pillow from the head of my bed and removed the pillowcase. I used the pillowcase to wrap around the doll.

"I thought you were going to use your mother's isolated blanket," Sam asked as she handed me the doll.

"I thought I'd try this first," I replied. I wrapped the pillowcase around the doll and placed it on my lap. "This is silly!"

"Tell me about it," Tucker replied. I looked in his direction but I didn't see his and Sam's doll.

"Where's your doll," I asked.

Tucker pointed to the desk. "In my backpack. I put it in there when we were flying home."

"You put your baby in your backpack," I declared.

"You put the doll in your backpack," Sam declared at the same time I did. She jumped off the bed and ripped open his bag. "How could you?"

"It's just a doll," Tucker retorted.

"It's still our grade," Sam declared. She removed the doll from the bag and came back over to the bed. I laid the doll down on the bed and relaxed with my friends.

O_O

My cell phone broke the silence that we were enjoying. I reluctantly retrieved my team phone, preparing to hear either a panicked citizen or a devious Paulina. However, Vlad was the one who came over the line.

"You're late," he declared.

My mind froze, "What?"

"You skipped last week's lesson but not this weeks. Get here now!"

"Shoot," I declared, floating into the air. "Tell him I'll see him tonight."

"Daniel," Vlad said, disappointed.

"Look, unless you want the police showing up at your door, I need to go to the clinic. If today is that day, it's also that day!"

"Sam and Tucker around," Vlad said, more of a statement.

"Yeah," I replied. "We were hanging out. We had an interesting start of the week."

"What happened," Vlad asked me.

"Nothing big," I replied. "I guess I'll see you tonight."

"Don't forget your lessons again," Vlad replied.

"Bite me," I declared. "Bye."

"Bye," Vlad replied. I hung up the phone.

"Who on Earth was that," Sam asked as Tucker just stared at me in shock.

"Oh, it's no one," I brushed it aside. "Just the clinic. I forgot about an appointment I had today."

"The Free Clinic has your phone number," Tucker asked, still staring at me.

"Yeah," I replied. "They get worried because of the Ectoranium. That first time I was attacked, they had to spread out to find me and Dr. Reynolds thought it would be best if she had a number to maybe hear in the vicinity."

Of course, that was a complete lie. The doctors never even considered that knowing my number could have altered that day. It was more of my idea that day but I've come to realize that it wasn't necessary. I'm just using it so I don't have to explain my relationship with Vlad. Sam and Tucker would never understand.

"Can we go with you," Tucker asked.

"I guess," I replied. "But I never talk to the doctor. She's trying to get me to open up." They still didn't understand so I elaborated, "She's a psychologist."

"They assigned you a psychologist," Sam asked, surprised.

"Yeah," I grumbled. "They're afraid that the stress I'm under could cause me to crack."

"They're right," Sam said, her voice low. "You should talk to her."

"I don't want to share my problems with anyone," I said, my voice soft. "If I can't handle them, who can?"

"It's not about who can handle this, Danny, it's about if you can handle it without letting some pressure off," Tucker said softly.

"Who says I don't let some steam off," I said, my smile returning. "The ghosts would agree that I don't keep everything bottled up!"

"But there's more to letting off steam than hitting a few ghosts," Sam declared. "You need to talk to someone and the psychologist is the perfect one to talk to."

"She won't judge you," Tucker added, "She won't feel sorry for you. She'll be a way to release fear and anxiety."

"You think so," I asked, crossing my arms across my chest.

"I know so," Sam said. "Just talk to the doctor. Anything would work, like the thing with Skulker this morning. You don't have to tell her about Valerie, just tell her about Skulker and how he keeps coming back. Try that."

I smiled at them. "I think I'll try that," I said softly. "You guys going home," I asked.

"Yeah," Tucker said.

"No," Sam replied. "I'm going to the Foley residence."

"Okay," I smirked. "I'll walk you guys there."

"Don't be ridiculous," Sam replied. "You're going in the opposite direction. We'll be fine."

"You're responsible for her," I said, locking eyes with Tucker.

"Of course," Tucker said, wrapping his arm around Sam's waist. "I'll take care of my woman!"

"Watch it," Sam said, glaring at him. I smiled. I wondered if Tucker would accidently kiss Sam like he did in the series. Oddly, I don't know if that thought makes me laugh or jealous.

O_O

I walked into the doctor's office, highly anxious. I was going to try to open up to her about one subject and see if it helped me any. However, if she started that thing people like her does, I would stop immediately. I'm sick of people thinking that just because I do something as a result from something else, they must be connected. Hasn't a single therapist ever heard of bad luck or impulse? My biggest catastrophes result from something I done on impulse.

"Thank you for joining me," Dr. Richardson said with a grimace. "Did you write anything?"

"No," I said, shamefully. "I'm sorry. I was on Spring Break and I was hanging out with my friends. I tend to forget things when I do that."

"Oh well," she sighed. She started jotting down some things in a notebook and I wondered if now would be an appropriate time to ask her.

"I was wondering," I said, barely above a whisper. I knew she could hear me so it was entirely up to her. If she wanted to hear what I wanted to say, she'd look up to me. Her eyes met mine. "My friends suggested that it would be best if I opened up to you. I'm a little afraid to but I'm willing to give it a try."

"You can proceed at your own pace," she said softly. "I won't rush you."

"Well," I said, struggling with my instincts. I'm hardwired to keep things to myself now and even sharing with Vlad has proven difficult. "I was 'kidnapped' today," I said, putting air quotes around the word. "And it's brought up some issues I have."

"Okay," she said. "What kind of issues?"

"Personal space issues," I said, my voice soft. "One of the worst things about being raped was having my body exposed. I guess everyone who is raped has that problem but I know where mine stems from." I paused for a moment, "When I was four years old, just a few weeks after my birthday, I met Tucker. My mom stepped out of the room for a minute and told my sister to watch me. Jazz was six so Mom trusted her with that responsibility. However, Jazz was reading a book and I was bored.

"When Jazz refused to play with me, I went in search for my own friend. I found Tucker thankfully and Mom became obsessed with all the ways that could have turned badly. She inserted a tracking chip in my skin, much like a dog tracker today. Then a few weeks later, that tracker came in handy.

"I've never told anyone this, so bear with me," I said, my voice going quiet. She nodded. "I had seen that van and more precisely those people all around town all week. I had even talked to them a few times and they kept trying to get me to get closer. I'd like to say I'm no fool but… what happened that Thursday proves otherwise. They pulled up in front of my house and I was playing in the yard. Mom was watching me this time but Dad was in the basement and Jazz didn't want to be outside. Mom brought me inside the house while she tended to Jazz but I went back outside. These same guys pulled up and asked me if I wanted a kitten.

"I said no of course. The only time I liked cats was when I was putting some of my parents' chemicals on their asses or shooting them with my soft-dart gun. I was a cruel kid when it came to cats. However, they changed their story. They said they had puppies.

"I had wanted a puppy for months. I had begged and pleaded my parents for a puppy and each time they said no. I got this ingenious plan. I was going to get a puppy and they would have no choice but to let me keep it or I'd give them my best plea and they'd crack. So I jumped in that van like the big idiot I was and—surprise—there was no puppy. I remember even saying it. I knew I had made that mistake.

"I knew what was going on but I didn't understand to the extent. I kept telling them that they were going to pay when my mom got a hold of them but I kept the fact I had a tracker in me secret. I didn't want them to know all the surprises. I was just trying to save them from a world of hurt. However, they started doing something I didn't understand. One of the guys was against it but it was because of fear more than modesty. He was afraid of something bigger than they were.

"They pulled my pants off and started to molest me. I didn't understand any of it and I didn't understand it for many years. I remember not even knowing that they were hurting me. I kept wondering what they were trying to do. I thought they were morons. However, after they finished rubbing me but before they could move on to 'bigger and better' things, Mom burst through the door. She lead the police straight there using the tracker and all I can say is I'm glad that she wasn't alone. She knew what they were doing."

"So you remember those events clearly," she asked me, jotting down notes. I was impressed with how professional she was.

"Yeah," I replied. "My dad and my sister don't know about the incident and my mom doesn't know I remember it. She believes that she's the only one who knows about it but I know where she goes every year at the end of June."

"Where does she go," Dr. Richardson asked, confused.

"The courthouse," I answered. "The suspects have actually served enough time to go free but they keep asking for a stay of their sentence because if they ever did get out, they would lose that protection. Mom won't kill them so long as they're locked behind bars. Mom goes there to prove that point and they beg the judge for mercy."

"You're making this up," she said, cracking a smile.

"No, I'm not," I replied. "Remember when I told you that I'm glad Mom wasn't alone. She charged at them, cleared them away from me, snapped one of the guys femurs in half and if the police officers hadn't stopped her, I imagine she would have seriously hurt or done worse to the next guy she got her hands on. She had three of the officers suspended for three weeks before she came around and took them off leave. They know what she can do to them and they know she has the power to get away with it. Sanchez clearly said that!"

"What did he say," she asked, a smirk on her lips. She still didn't believe me.

"He called her ma'am, said that he knows that she could do this with no repercussions but could she really kill in front of me." I remember that part perfectly. _Maddie_, he had called. The fire in her eyes had caused him to take a different route_. Ma'am, I know you have the authority to do this and I have absolutely no authority to tell you not to, but your son is right over there! I know you could kill them easily, but could you kill them in front of him!_

"Have you ever shown signs of discomfort with others before," she asked.

"Yeah," I answered, pulling out of my thoughts. "Normally, I can focus so that it doesn't paralyze me but then I get those instances that I just scream to let go of me."

"What feelings do you remember about that day," she continued.

"From that day, not many. I just remember the event but it was later that it started to affect me. That's why I never told Mom what they done to me. I was ten or something when I realized I had been molested."

"So what feelings do you have that come from that day," she amended.

"Anger," I said, softly. "Fear. Frustration. But most of all, I felt like I done wrong for not telling my mom. I told her everything and that's the second thing I kept from her. I was feeling bad enough about saying I believed in ghosts when I really didn't."

She laughed for a brief moment but covered it up, "I'm sorry. Go on."

"No, it's all right," I said, laughing myself. "It's completely crazy that I lived in a house of ghost hunters and didn't believe in ghosts until I became one myself. I fainted when I became half ghost."

"Your parents are ghost hunters," she asked, surprised. "I didn't think there were any ghost hunters in this town besides the Fenton's."

"Oh, you'd be surprised at how many ghost hunters there are in the world," I said, throwing her off my identity trial. Funny how I'm not hiding that I'm half human, half ghost but that I'm the son of the infamous ghost hunters. I have a screwed up life. "I can tell you right off the bat that Captain Holliday of the Amity Park Police Department is a ghost hunter. I am personally training his son." Or I was. With this new law with Summer School, we'll be lucky not to have Amity Park nuked by Samuels. And I'm not kidding.

"Well," she declared. "That is surprising. Any chance that you'll tell me who your parents are?"

"Nope," I declared. "If my mom knew I came to this clinic, there would be hell to pay for anyone involved. I'm doing it for your protection!"

"Well, I'm trying to do this for your protection. I won't even try to get you to tell your parents about Vlad because Renee told me that you haven't even told your friends. If you won't tell your best friends, I'm not foolish enough to think a teenager would tell his parents."

"You're right," I replied. "I don't know if I love him like I thought I did but I know that I respect our daughter enough to not have her father killed. If Mom and Dad knew about Vlad, they would still be picking up pieces in two hundred years."

"Do you fear your parents," she asked, her eyes going wide.

"Describe fear," I said. "Do I fear them as human? That would be a no. Do I fear them as Danny Phantom, the ghost they have no idea is their son? More than you could imagine."

"Do you fear them finding out the two are the same," she asked.

I paused. I lifted up my hands to shape a box, "On one side, no. I'm a father myself now, so I know the power of that love. However," I said, moving the box to the opposite side, "on the other side, I'm also a ghost hunter. I know what it's like to be betrayed, hurt, and deceived. I'm struggling with forgiving Vlad… how could they ever forgive me?"

"Because they're your parents," she declared. "My God, boy! Tell your parents the truth! They would never hate you like that. When that baby girl messes up and she hides that mistake from you, you are going to laugh at the fact she thought you could never forgive her. It may not be a split bottle of juice, but it's still as silly!"

"I know what you're talking about," I defended. "But I'm too selfish to take that chance! What do I lose when I'm wrong? Do you have any clue? My parents, in the worst-case scenario, would kill me! If they don't kill me, the least they would do is lock me away. I know they would do that. They would never trust a ghost as powerful as me out in the open. I'd be a prisoner!"

"I'm telling you," she started to declare.

"Just stop," I declared, my eyes stinging. She instinctually leaned back into her chair. I took a deep breath, my eyes turning back to their normal baby blue. "I can't take that chance! I won't lose her completely. I couldn't take that look of hurt and disappointment in her eyes. It'd kill me long before she did."

"Okay," she said softly. She chuckled nervously. "When you flashed your eyes, there," she exhaled loudly, chucking some more.

"Yeah," I said, my voice soft. "I'm sorry. I normally don't lose my cool like that. I'm just glad I did it with someone who knew my secret."

"Don't worry if it was," she said, her voice soft. "If I didn't know you had green eyes in ghost form, I would have never caught it or if I had, I would have thought it to be a trick of the light."

"I have tutoring with Vlad," I said, sighing. "Can we wrap this session up?"

"We've had a marvelous session," she smiled. "Just write something the first half of this week. I'd also like for you to talk to me about something else. Try easing into that state. I liked how we touched on the subject of your uncertainty about Vlad."

"Don't tell him that," I said, my voice pleading. "I'd hate for you to flaunt that at him and it wouldn't be true anymore. Some moments I'm desperately in love with him and some moments I'm not. Right now, I'm not but that's because of the tutoring. I know as soon as the lesson is over, I'll go back to being in love with him."

"Just try to figure out what you're in love with," she said, locking eyes with me. "See you Wednesday."

"Hopefully," I replied. "I should have probably mentioned that I am constantly being pulled in twenty different directions. If I don't show up, I'll contact you as soon as I'm available to do so. Never know when Skulker will kidnap me again."

"Why couldn't I have a normal patient," she sighed under her breath. I smiled, knowing I wasn't meant to hear that. I walked out of the doctor's office and went to see Dr. Reynolds. Hopefully, she would take these senseless prenatal medications off me. I have way too many.

O_O

It was three hours later and my powers had fully returned. The tutor had worked with me so I could follow along but he instructed me to read his directional emails from now on. Vlad knew something was wrong and he was failing at keeping his insecurities from sight. I wondered if I should tell him what's wrong or ask him what's wrong with him. Considering my gut is telling me I already know what is wrong, I go with the first.

"Vlad," I said, softly. "I don't know what to do," I sighed.

"Here it goes," Vlad said, closing his eyes. "I'm losing you, aren't I?"

"I don't know," I answered truthfully. "I've been having this sinking feeling and I'm terrified that it's not just my overactive imagination," I declared. "I've learned that with you, there's no such thing as an overactive imagination."

"Just talk to me," Vlad said, his voice pleading. "You'll never know until you ask, Daniel."

"Is our relationship built on the fact that you couldn't break me," I blunted out finally. "I remember you clearly telling me that by the time I was strong enough to oppose you I wouldn't feel like struggling. Vlad, I'm strong enough to fight you now but I don't want to!"

"No," Vlad said, closing the space between us on the couch. He faced me, taking my hands in his. "Daniel, that was entirely different. I truly believed that by the time you were this strong that I would have you wrapped around my finger. You never wrapped around my finger," Vlad said, a smile coming to his eyes, "You are very independent."

"That's what I'm talking about," I said but I couldn't stop the smile forming either. "I love you, Vlad. I can't explain it but you are a big piece of me. If you disappeared, there would always be a piece of me missing. I'm scared of losing you but at the same time, I'm afraid I've lost myself. I don't even know who I am anymore!"

"You are Daniel Fenton," Vlad said, bringing my hand to his lips. He kissed my hand tenderly, "You are the love of my life and the mother to my child. You are everything that I hold dear and nothing I would jeopardize. You are a fighter and a hopeless dreamer. You are the most gentle and loving thing on this planet but yet you have the power to be the most destructive thing on this planet but your own sheer will is holding you back. You're naïve and childish. You're smart and mature. You are everything this world has to offer, no matter how contrasting that may be."

I was smiling at him at this point. I had no idea Vlad was such a romantic. "Talk about contrast," I spoke softly. "How is it you can be so loving and tender but have so many dark plans?"

"You changed me," Vlad said softly. "I can't say that I still don't have those plans because they do resurface but then I think about losing you. I have to choose between evil and you and you will always win. There's nothing in this world more important to me than our family."

I leaned into him, kissing him passionately. We were just kissing. There was no sign of it progressing into anything further. Finally, I broke the kiss.

"I love you," I spoke softly, out of breath.

"I love you, too," Vlad said, his eyes shining. "I want to show you something," Vlad said, standing up. He pulled me gently to my feet. "Do you want to transport or fly?"

I triggered my rings and floated into the air, "Going too fast makes me nauseas. I couldn't imagine what would happen if I went from one place to another in a blink of an eye."

"Then let's go to your place," he replied, transforming himself. "We're going through the portal."

"The portal," I asked, confused and surprised. "What could be in there that you'd want to show me?"

"You'll have to see to find out," Vlad said, flashing me a smile.

I playfully shivered, "How is it you managed a completely crazy and evil look from that accident? Did it just know?"

"No," Vlad laughed. "I changed my appearance. My eyes and my face were always this color and my fangs and my hair was also in place when I became half ghost but I added everything else. I shaped my hair to be in a more horned shape and I changed my nightclothes to this suit and cape but really, it didn't change too much. I enjoyed the look I just didn't want to go around in my pajamas."

"Your nightclothes," I asked, a light dawning. "You changed at night. Five years later?"

"No," Vlad declared. "God, no! I changed five months after the accident. August 13, 1985 was when I became half ghost. But it was at night."

"That's strange," I said, my voice soft. "Oh, well! I guess I'll have to wait until that future gets here if it does and hopefully it doesn't."

O_O

We made it through the portal and Vlad led the way from there. As we travelled further into the Ghost Zone, the area became increasingly more familiar. I couldn't place where I had seen this area before but I knew I had been here. Finally, the memories flooded back as I saw the swirling green vortex ahead of me. "The island," I declared as the memory flooded back. I had to find this place in the future and it wasn't easy. I had to sense for Vlad's human sense but I hadn't identified it as only a human sense. I didn't get that he was only human until he told me.

"Yeah, I got the house finished. I've been meaning to take you here but you've been so busy," Vlad replied.

"Finished," I declared. "I wasn't even aware you were building a house on the property."

"You should have been," Vlad said, his voice disapproving. "I told you I was going to get rid of the camper as soon as my house was finished and you started ranting about giving the camper away or selling it instead of destroying it."

"Was that the reason you were going to destroy it," I asked. I hadn't realized that was what he was talking about. I just remember him telling me about destroying that beautiful camper once he was finished with it. I guess I didn't connect the dots or it never occurred to me why he would be done with the camper.

"I did give it to a homeless shelter," Vlad said, his voice shameful. "I can't believe it. Me, giving away useless junk instead of destroying it!"

I kissed his cheek as we came to an abrupt stop inside the portal, "You did good." I looked around, "I definitely remember this place." I pointed to the very spot I saw future Vlad at, "He was sitting right there."

"I'm sorry if this is bringing up bad memories," Vlad said, his voice soft.

"It's not bringing up anything," I said, entangling my hand in his. They never go away. Most times, I'm strong enough to put on a brave face but even then, I'm dying inside.

Vlad lifted me up using his powers. I looked at him curiously, "I have the basement protected so that no other ghosts beside me could phase out of it. Your powers wouldn't allow you to pass."

"That's why you had to take me to the lab in that dream," I declared. "You just solved a three month mystery for me," I smiled brightly, "Thank you!"

"No problem," Vlad chuckled. He released my hand and I finally got a good look around. My jaw dropped.

"Vlad," I cried. "This is too much! Simple, man! Simple!"

"There's nothing in life simple, so why should our living quarters be any differently," Vlad said coolly, a smile on his lips. "Allow me to show you around."

He showed me around the living room which was where we were. However, before we exited the room, a young lady walked into the room carrying a vase of flowers. She looked to be younger than eighteen and to possibly be Indian or of southern Asia descent. I stared at her as she placed the flowers on the end table, arranging them to contrast beautifully.

"That looks beautiful, Kamalla," Vlad replied. "Come here. I would like to introduce you to someone."

She walked over to us slowly, bowing to us with her right hand balled into her left palm. "It is a pleasure to meet you," she greeted.

I returned her gesture, mindful to be respectful. "The pleasure is mine."

"Kamalla, this is Madam Daniel. Daniel, this is Kamalla. She is one of my local employees," Vlad said.

"Madam," I asked, raising my eyebrow.

"You're pregnant," he retorted. "Just face it! You're a woman!"

"You've told them," I declared. Then a thought occurred to me. "Were we just speaking in her native tongue?"

"Yes," Vlad replied. "We were talking in her native tongue but she does know your situation. The people of Polynesia are superstitious people. They already believed in Gods when I hired them."

"We're not Gods, Vlad," I declared. "We're just half ghost!"

"Close enough," Vlad retorted. He turned back to the young girl, "Kamalla, please seek out the Master worker and tell him to assemble the employees."

"Right away, Master Vlad. Madam Daniel," she said, doing the traditional bow. I returned it as well.

"I may be pregnant but that does not make me a woman," I retorted once she was done. "Do these people have the right to leave or are they your slaves?"

"They leave every night," Vlad responded. "Because I don't live here, I only have day workers. They get time off, they earn salaries and I sell the crops I harvest at penny prices at the local islands."

"Okay," I said, taken by surprise. When did Vlad become a humanitarian? "What are you doing this all for? It's not like we'll ever live on the island, right?"

"Actually," Vlad said, his voice going soft. "We're living on the island from now on."

I stared at him, unable to process what he was saying. Finally, I snapped. "What," I declared. "We may vacation here but I am not living here!"

"You and our baby were nearly killed last night," Vlad declared, his anger actually exposing itself. He looked exactly like he did last night; nothing like the man I love. "You will never be in danger again, Daniel. You can go and visit as often as you like, but you're staying here."

"Oh, no, I am not," I declared. "It was a stupid attack," I defended. "They happen all the time!"

"That is exactly my point," Vlad declared. He pointed his finger at me, "All it takes is one mistake and you, our baby or possibly both could be dead. I won't take that chance again!"

"Vlad, I appreciate the thought but I have to go back," I said, my voice softer. "I will always protect my town, Vlad. It's in my blood."

"Our child is more important," Vlad declared, his anger still spiked. "That town has no respect for you! You're just a doormat to them!"

"It doesn't matter," I said, my voice still soft. "Vlad, now take me home."

When he refused, I took matters into my own hands. The employees were starting to gather when I stormed off. I knew Vlad thought I was giving up but in reality, I was looking for another way. If there's a will, there's a way and the only thing I still have these days are wills. I passed through the kitchen and saw an apple sitting on the counter. I picked it up and bit into it as I thought about how to escape. Finally, it occurred to me.

Vlad had based his barrier off Mom and Dad's barrier and they discovered through error that the floors needed a coat to be successful. I sunk through the floor and phased into the earth. I traveled along the earthy space until I was directly below the lab. I crossed my fingers and phased into the basement. I stifled a cry of success. I wasn't out of the woods yet.

I flew through the portal and flew home.

O_O

I made it to the Nasty Burger before Valerie's shift was over. I had completely forgot about dropping the baby off with her before I went for my lessons. Of course, she wasn't upset. I just took more responsibility off her shoulders and gave her more time to ghost hunt. Of course, I owed Tucker two hundred dollars for babysitting all evening and leaving the baby with him for longer than scheduled. I learned it wasn't I who gave him the idea, or at least directly. He got the idea when I didn't come and get the baby when patrol began.

Sam, on the other hand, had a whole other list of complaints. I was in big trouble for missing patrol and not calling. Sam and Tucker had thought the worst when I hadn't arrived by seven. But the most difficult thing I couldn't explain to them was why by eight, they couldn't find my signature on the tracker. I know I have some apologizing to do to Skulker. They tore his island apart and Sam supposedly tortured him thinking he had something to do with my disappearance.

"I'm sorry, guys," I said. "I done as you asked me. I opened up to the doc but it stirred some bad emotions. I had to clear my head."

"That I can understand," Tucker declared, "but where the hell where you? I couldn't find you on the tracker."

"You probably just missed me," I covered up. "I didn't stay in one place too long."

"We weren't manually searching," Sam declared. "We had the tracker specifically search for you. You weren't in this world or in the Ghost Zone!"

"I don't know what to tell you," I finally said. It had more meaning to it than what it sounded like.

"That's exactly what it is," Tucker said, his voice hard. "You just don't know what to tell us anymore. How much you can trust us?"

"Tucker, you know better than that," I defended. "I trust you with my life. If this was about trust, I'd tell you every secret that I have but it has nothing to do with that!"

"Then what else could it be," Sam declared. "It sure as hell isn't about protecting us because we're about to go crazy from the lies!"

"It is about protecting you," I defended. "You may act like you can take it; hell, you may think you can! But I know you can't!"

"Danny, we are very passionate about things that hurt you," Tucker said, his eyes locking with mine. "When something attacks you, it attacks us. But right now, you're attacking yourself!"

"And we're about to declare war on you," Sam finished up as Tucker nodded.

I sighed, "I was with Vlad."

"What," they both declared.

"We got in a fight," I said, obscuring the truth. "He and I were arguing about last night and he trapped me in the black box of doom. That's why you couldn't find me."

"Why didn't you tell us," Sam declared.

"Because Vlad is someone we can't afford to go up against," I said, sighing. I had to make this look good so I dug into that part of me, currently under fifty feet of positive emotions, that didn't trust him. "I was afraid if you knew who had me, you might try something."

"Well, you're right," Tucker declared. "We can take him."

"No," I stated. "You can't do that. He's too powerful."

"We'll take care of him once we master our powers," Sam said, directed at Tucker. "Don't worry, Tuck, he'll learn to stay away from Danny."

That's the problem, I thought to myself. Danny doesn't want him to go away.

**AN: What did you think about my version of Life Lessons? Was it entertaining? Drop me a line. I'd like to give a shout out to PrincessBettty01 for reviewing every chapter. You rock, girl! I'd like to hear from everyone else out there too. I'll accept all forms of feedback. Tell me what you think. Love it. Hate it. Don't care either way. I'd like to know people's reactions to this story. We're halfway through this story. Once this one wraps up, the updates will be less frequent.**

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	9. Chapter 9

**Disclaimer: I do not own Danny Phantom.**

**Warning: This story contains reference to rape, sexual content, male sex and pedophilia. If any of this disturbs you, please do not read.**

**Chapter Nine: Heartbreak**

I was on my late night shift but I wasn't doing too well. I was either getting unbearable heartburn or bouts of terrible nausea; I was either dealing with stiff joints or a sore back; I was also suffering through severe irritation. Every ghost there was adding to my irritability. Most left before the fight got underway, stating that I was no fun when all I was doing was weakening them and sucking them in. However, between all the different symptoms, I just didn't have the patients to play. Finally, in the middle of a ghost attack, I did something I never expected.

I returned the thermos to my human form, "Oh, I give up," I said, placing the ball of my fist to my chest. It felt like a miniature inferno inside the cavity there. "You can do as you wish but I'm giving you ample warning. If you make too much racket, my parents will come out and you will really wish I was still here!"

I belched, the burn increasing. I clenched my chest tighter, the feeling driving me insane. Why in the world was I getting heartburn? I know it's a common symptom for pregnant women but geez, I haven't even ate anything since the apple and breakfast before that… I think. Was it breakfast yesterday? I know for sure that I ate then!

I phased through the wall of the kitchen and grabbed a glass from the cabinet. I filled it with water and grabbed an Alka-Seltzer. I hoped that wouldn't affect the baby. After I finished drinking my medication, I phased out of my house and headed for my room. I flew through my open window, about to power down, when I heard something.

"Phantom," an angry voice declared and I saw her. Sitting in the corner of my room, out of my direct sight, was my mother. She pulled out an ectogun.

"Whoa," I cried, flying out of the room. "What was she doing there?"

"Get back here," my mom cried to the sky, hanging out of the window. I flew out of sight and landed on the ground.

"Shoot," I cried as I ducked behind a building. I powered down to my human form. "That was too close!" I walked back to the house, grabbed a rope from the shed and threw it into my bedroom window. Mom knows I'm not home, the house is probably on lockdown, like usual; and I need a plausible excuse to keep my window open. If I don't cover that basis, Mom may bolt my window shut because of my little stunt.

I came into my room, taking a silent breath to calm myself. I tried not to show that I knew she was there. I had to act just like I did before she nearly started shooting me. I paused for a minute after I climbed inside but Mom still remained quiet. I looked just to the left of where she had been sitting when I came in the first time and she was still sitting there. I kept my observations short because I didn't want her to notice I was watching her despite it being pitch black in my room.

I began to move again, knowing I couldn't sit still for the rest of the night. She was observing my nightly routine. Would she even make herself known? Was this observation or confrontation? I also had to keep in mind when the old Danny would have noticed his mother sitting in the room. With as high as my instincts have improved, I'm not sure when would be too soon and when would be too late.

I kicked my shoes off, my shoulders stiff from knowing she was in the corner. I was going over my recent injuries to see if anything would remain. If Mom had her goggles on, she could see in the dark. That may have been the reason I had startled her so when I came in. Have you ever looked at a light with night vision on?

"Obviously you know I'm here," Mom finally spoke, standing up from the chair. I noticed the sound from the noise that alerted me to her presence in the first place. Mom had stood up and that was what saved my hide.

"Hi, Mom," I said, removing my t-shirt. "I wasn't going to disturb you. Just because I have something to hide doesn't mean I'll play dirty to keep it from you."

"Where have you been," Mom asked me, crossing her arms.

"My normal routines," I answered. "I'm in a little early tonight." I burped again and groaned. "Stupid heartburn!"

"You have heartburn," Mom asked me, concerned.

"I can't explain it," I said, rubbing my chest. "I normally don't get sick."

"When was the last time you ate a good meal," Mom asked me.

"Did I eat breakfast this morning," I asked.

"No," Mom answered.

"Yesterday morning," I replied. "At breakfast."

"No wonder you have heartburn," Mom declared. "You need to eat small, frequent meals until the heartburn goes away and then at least eat two full meals. You should eat three full meals and a snack but at this point, I'm a beggar."

"Thanks," I smirked. "You should get some sleep. It's getting late."

"You're the one with school tomorrow," Mom replied.

"I'll be fine," I replied. "This is normal." I picked up my phone, dialing Sam's number. "Hey, I'm home. Tell Tucker and get some sleep."

"How did you know Tuck was here," Sam asked, then sighed, "Never mind. See you tomorrow, Danny."

"See you tomorrow," I replied. I looked at where Mom was, sitting just to the left of my desk, in my chair. "Get some sleep, Mom," I commented quietly.

"I'll see you in the morning and you will eat right," Mom said. She kissed my cheek and walked out of my room. Thankfully, she didn't suspect that Phantom and I were somehow connected.

O_O

I settled into my bed, my breathing slowing down for sleep. A soft sound came to my ears. I opened my eyes, my breathing returning to normal, and looked around. The sound disappeared. Confused but uninterested, I closed my eyes again. As my breathing slowed down, I heard the soft thumping again. I opened my eyes but initiated my ghost breath. With the loud breathing canceled out, the thumping became increasingly loud.

"No way," I said, laughing silently. I placed my hand on my stomach, feeling for the vibrations that only I could detect if they were there. Harmonious with the rapid thumping was an equally as rapid vibration. I placed my free hand on my own chest and compared the thumps. Two vibrations from my abdomen would resound for every one in my chest. Amazingly, the tiny vibrations were on par for four hundred beats per minute. "Hello, Lilly."

I was listening to my daughter's heartbeat. I knew my hearing and my detection of vibrations were acute compared to a human, but I had no idea they were comparable with an ultrasound. Normally, parents can't hear this without a machine. Actually, Dr. Reynolds hasn't been able to hear it yet but she wasn't too concerned. I know I can be anywhere from fourteen to nineteen weeks pregnant. We're not sure on the exact date. Either way, I'm in my second trimester now.

I settled down, allowing the soft thumping of my daughter's heartbeat to sing me to sleep. It was the most beautiful sound I had ever heard. I couldn't stop smiling. This was proof of the little life inside me. I couldn't ask for a better shred of evidence.

O_O

I came down the stairs, the regular dream still in my memory. I held her in my arms and she cried and was healthy. I entered into the kitchen and the smell was overpowering. I coughed, retreating outside but the smile remained planted. After I took on my ghost breath, I walked back in the kitchen.

"Are you all right," Mom asked me.

"I'm fine," I answered. "I just got something caught in my throat."

"Okay," Mom frowned. I knew that excuse would get her off the trail. Nothing like spitting to make a woman back off. There's something about that natural phenomenon that has women worldwide grossed out. "I made you a small breakfast."

"I'll just have Froot Loops," I replied.

"No," Mom instructed, her voice firm. "You are going to eat properly. I think I found a way to help you."

"Help me," I asked, confused. "Help me how?"

"You said you had trouble tasting foods," Mom replied. "I think I may have found a way for you to taste this."

"Oh, Mom," I said, a little nervous. "I don't know."

"Come on," Mom instructed. "Try it, at least!"

"Would it kill a ghost," I asked, trying not to sound too obvious. "Or harm a growing fetus?"

"What," Mom laughed. "No, it won't harm a ghost but… I've never tried it on a pregnant woman."

"I don't know," I said again. "It could have effects we don't know about."

"Unless you're a ghost or you're pregnant, you have no reason to not try," Mom said, crossing her arms. I paled.

"Okay," I said. I picked up a piece of bacon and put it in my mouth. Oddly, it did have the burning sensation of bacon but it was too strong. I coughed from the overpowering flavor. "Wow, that's strong!"

"You can taste it," Mom asked, delighted.

"Yeah," I answered, "but it tastes like someone put a ton of pepper on it."

"At least it's something," Mom smiled brightly. "Try the eggs."

"Oh," I groaned, picking up the fork. I phased the piece of bacon to my shoe as I took the bite of egg. Again, it showed up on my palate but as inedible. However, the egg was even more so. It tasted like drywall plaster and believe me, I've tasted it before. I spat it out, groaning.

"Can you taste that too," Mom asked, even more delighted.

I rushed to the sink and turned on the cold water. I washed my mouth out, spitting the nasty stuff down the sink. I finally looked up, cutting the facet off, "Oh, yeah," I groaned. "I could taste it and it tasted just like when I slipped that year and took a bite out of the replacement wall Dad was building."

"It's something," Mom declared. "I won't ask you to taste the biscuit because I imagine it tastes even worse. I've got to find the natural rhythm to it."

"Better yet, why not just forget about it," I said, my stomach doing summersaults.

"Because you're wasting away before my eyes," Mom said, gently stroking my cheek. "I bet you don't even weight one hundred pounds."

"I know I don't," I declared. The front door opened and closed but Mom didn't seem to notice. "I weigh something like eighty-eight pounds with only my underwear."

Footsteps made their way to the kitchen until Tucker finally announced, "Hey, Danny! Hey, Mom!"

"Hey, guys," I addressed.

"Eighty-eight pounds," Mom declared. I don't know what was the main emotion: anger, shock or fear.

"On a good day," Sam groaned. "Why are you telling her your weight?"

"She camped out in my room last night," I informed them.

Their eyes widened. "Did she," Tucker asked fearfully, leading me.

"No," I answered. "I caught on before that point."

Both Sam and Tucker breathed a sigh of relief. "Thank God," Sam declared.

"You could tell her, you know," Tucker commented again.

"I don't know," I sighed. "Like I've said, a part of me agrees with Tucker and a part of me agrees with Sam. I'm down the middle."

"Where does Jazz sit on this," Mom asked me, her eyes searching ours individually.

"With Sam," I answered. "Brit's with Tucker, though. I have no definitive answer."

"Piggy tails," Sam declared, her eyes blazing. I chuckled.

"Yeah, piggy tails," I teased. "She has a lot of opinions."

"How's Marcie," Mom asked me.

"Like you don't know," I commented with a sly grin. Mom has every medical report faxed to her even though, technically, that's an illegal practice. What are they going to do, though? Mom knows every big secret this country has, she has the technology and evidence to prove it and what's worse, she's got Samuels on her side. "She's about the same. Her body is rejecting the chemo."

"We need to do something," Tucker said, letting out a deep breath.

"We need to get her out of Texas," I remarked.

"Bringing her up here to these winters would be a mistake," Mom replied. "She's more at risk for the flu up here."

"And the heat will put stress on her," I declared.

"It's hot up here too," Mom replied. "At least Texas is warmer in the wintertime."

"Winter is over, though," Tucker objected. "If we haven't seen the last snow already, then we will before the month is up. But I'd bet on winter being a thing of the past."

"I agree," I replied. "Winter has seen its last days."

"Until next year," Sam sighed.

"You will wear a coat next year," I retorted. "You've nearly froze to death all winter!"

"Next year, I'll have made the transformation," Sam said, a smile on her lips. "Next year won't matter."

"You won't be exactly like me," I objected. "You'll have five years before it's complete."

"We're not going that route," Tucker remarked. He sat down at the table and started to eat his breakfast. "It'll be the express route."

"And what happens when that happens," I asked. "You die?"

"No," Sam objected. Mom's head snapped between all three of us as we talked casually. Actually, we weren't really trying to hide what we were talking about. The biggest thing we were being careful about speaking aloud was half ghost.

"Then what," I spoke softly. "Cause I can't figure out around it."

"We take your approach to it but instead of locking it up with us, we isolate it by itself," Tucker remarked. "It's brilliant. The shield comes around the vial and the chemical can't breech the shield. No one dies, everyone, but you, are happy, and we're equal."

"Yeah, everyone but me," I sighed. "It might work. But I'm still not willing to risk your lives on a possible theory."

"Are you okay," Sam cut in, breaking the conversation. "I know whatever's going on is good because even though we're talking about something that really makes you stressed out, you're still smiling."

"I am," I asked, touching my cheeks. "I guess I am! If you hadn't noticed, I got in bed at two-ten last night."

"We noticed," Tucker chuckled. "How did you manage to swing it?"

"Invincible didn't come back, did he," Sam asked.

"No," I replied. "At least not as of bedtime last night. I just got fed up with it. I took my own time in my own hands. It actually felt pretty good!"

"Oh, my God," Mom declared, her eyes growing wide. "You are ghost hunting!"

I ignored her, "I just came home and went to bed. Anyone left tapping on my window got the hell shot out of them."

Tucker laughed. "Congratulations," he smiled. "I hope you can learn to do that more often."

I rested my hand on my stomach beneath the table but I don't believe anyone noticed, "I need to start taking better care of myself. I'm not good to anyone if I'm so exhausted that I can't stand. I don't know how this will fare but I'm willing to put forth the effort."

"We'll help," Sam smiled.

"Daniel, answer me," Mom declared. "You've been ghost hunting, haven't you?"

"Of course I have, Mom," I finally said, looking in her direction. "The clues have all been there. Why do you think we haven't been hiding our conversation to you. If you keep sneaking into my room, you were bound to figure it out. If you had stayed ten minutes last night, you would have heard them tapping on my window and asking me to 'come out to play.'" Actually, thank goodness she didn't stay. They always put 'Phantom' in front of that sentence.

"Danny," Mom cried. "It's too dangerous!"

"I haven't been hurt yet," I replied. "I'm the reigning champion of the ghost hunter's youth camp and I'm also the reigning champion of all ghost hunters, adult and youth divisions. I had to do something when I saw my town under attack!"

"I want to tag along," Mom said, her voice holding absolutely no room for objection. I looked to Sam and Tucker for their opinion. They seemed to agree with me. We could keep my secret identity still a secret if we worked diligently.

"Okay," I replied. "Meet us at the Nasty Burger at five-forty-five if you want something to eat and at six o'clock for…" I paused but I couldn't find a way around it. "Oh, what the hell. For patrol."

"It's not illegal," Sam sighed, looking to Mom.

"What are you talking about," Mom declared. "No matter how you spin it, if you are walking the streets with weapons, you are patrolling and patrolling is illegal for children under eighteen!"

"Not with a permit," I sighed. "I called Samuels before Thanksgiving and got a patrol permit because the director was threatening to look into it. He wouldn't have done anything like suspend me because of who we are but he would have discovered the ghosts. I was desperately trying to keep that secret in tack." Much like another secret.

"Before Thanksgiving," Mom asked, confused. Here goes everything…well, almost everything. "The ghosts didn't escape until after Christmas."

"You know that isn't true," Sam objected. "You saw the Lunch Lady and Phantom the same week they escaped. September fifteenth was the first ghost fight." I don't know if she was openly lying or if she saw the loophole she could slip through. Mom could take that 'they' refers to Lunch Lady and Phantom but in fact, Phantom 'escaped' on August twenty-seventh. Whether she knew she was lying or if she referred to all ghosts in general will be up to interpretation.

"All the way back then," Mom declared.

"Yep," Tucker clicked his tongue. "And it's only gotten worse."

"How worse," Mom declared. Her eyes were huge from fear or worry.

"Don't worry," I said, attempting to calm her down. "What he means is that they've only increased their numbers. The number of ghosts we capture and return to the Ghost Zone is staggering."

"I shall see tonight," Mom said. I looked to Sam and Tucker and they were scarfing down their food. I went to the fridge and retrieved my favorite fruit. Sam and Tucker stood up, but Tucker reached for my plate. "No," Mom cried as I caught on.

"Tucker," I declared but it was too late. He popped the bite of bacon in his mouth and then started coughing.

"That was a special bacon I created for Danny to add taste to his food!"

"More like synthetic bacon you made," Tucker said, scrapping his tongue with his fingers. He shivered in disgust, "Disgusting!"

"It didn't taste any better to me," I commented. "Let's go."

"Do you need a ride to school," Mom asked me.

"We got time," I remarked as I headed out the door. Once in my safety spot, I transformed and opened their minds. When I transformed, the bacon I stuffed in my shoe fell to the ground. "That bacon was horrible but it wasn't as bad as the egg. I couldn't hide the egg. I spit it back up right there instead of hiding it in my shoe like I hid the bacon."

Sam and Tucker laughed as I came to float beside them. "Are you sure you can keep this hidden from her," Sam asked, her voice soft.

"No," I admitted, "But I'm almost sure. I know I can fight the ghosts in human form and do a good job. I hardly turn ghost to fight the daytime ghosts anyway. But I am worried about all the 'whelps' and the 'ghost boys' and especially the 'halfas'. Mom is so close, just one nudge will have her falling into my secret and then nothing can save me then."

"We'll protect your secret like we always do," Tucker commented, his voice displaying his displeasure. I know he wants me to tell Mom but I can't do that.

We disappeared from sight and flew off in the direction of school. I had to pick up the doll from Valerie in first period and try to get through the day with as little damage as possible. We had maybe five minutes to get to school so we wouldn't be goofing off. We just couldn't be late for first period. Mr. Fuluka and our fights get epic.

O_O

Fate was out to torture me today. Of all the days to have no homework, of all the days to not have a place to be; today had to be that day. I was left for two hours, knowing my fate. I felt like a man on death row. Of course, with my parents, the analogy couldn't be more accurate. I was certain that if I kept my eyes peeled for bad situations turning worse, I could keep my secret intact but that didn't stop my mind from producing all these worst-case scenarios.

"Are you sure you guys want to tag along," I asked for maybe the fifth time in only a fifteen minute time span.

"Yes," both Mom and Dad declared. Sam and Tucker sunk beside me on the couch while Jazz glanced up at me from her book. Don't give me that look, Jazz, I know how stupid of an idea this was!

I sunk in the couch as well, joining Sam and Tucker on their pity wagon. Only us three sat on the couch while Mom and Dad sat on the adjoining couch and Jazz sat in the armchair. I wanted anything to happen to stop this stupid thing I agreed to. I didn't care what it was and I would even deal with the consequences. Anything would be better than the consequences of this agreement going horribly wrong.

"What time do you kids usually go out," Dad asked me.

"Five-forty-five," I answered, "but we don't start patrol until six."

"How did you get Samuels to sign off on a patrol permit," Dad asked me another question.

"It's Samuels," Mom was the one to answer. "He told him to sign this paper and Samuels did it without reading it."

"Right," I said, my voice bored. It wasn't even four o'clock yet and I was bored out of my mind. I wish I had walked home now. At least I would have killed more time.

I stood up from the couch and stabilized myself from the sudden movement. I noticed all eyes fell on me but I ignored their concern. I walked to the kitchen and dug a box of saltines out. I had been plagued with nausea all day long and body aches since one. Luckily, I haven't been visited by heartburn but I think that had to do with me taking Mom's advice. I have been eating small (by my standards) meals all day. I think that has kept the heartburn away but it's done a doozy on my nausea.

I walked back to the chair and started to munch on the crackers. The salt did a wonder for my stomach but my daughter was not happy, like always, with anything other than apple-based foods. I removed a baggie of applesauce from my back pocket and squirted some on the saltine.

Sam gasped in disgust, "Danny!"

"What," I asked, taking the bite of cracker. The salt of the cracker and the sweet of the apple contrast loudly but it made both carrier and daughter happy so it would do. However, my family was deeply disturbed from the mixing of the foods. I don't see what the big deal is. It's not like I'm eating pickles and ice cream.

"You like that," Dad asked me, horrified.

"He can't taste it," Mom declared, glaring at Dad.

"I guess it's a cry out for attention," Jazz said. "He can't taste the food so he'll mix them in odd pairings."

"Or," I objected, my voice hard, "I just want to push my body to the limits."

"Don't push him," Sam said, her voice scolding. "He's got a hard enough time opening up as it is. We don't need him shutting down completely."

I groaned, the nausea still not settled. I hate this morning sickness stuff. I thought it was supposed to disappear after the first trimester. Mine started in the late first or the early second! I put my applesauce baggie back in my pocket and used my left arm to massage my right shoulder. Everything hurt and I didn't understand half of the pain. Sure, my feet and my back hurt like in a traditional pregnancy but why did my shoulder hurt or my neck. The baby wasn't that high or weighing them down.

"Are you okay, Danny," Dad asked me. "You're acting like your mother when she was pregnant with you!"

"Mom had aches all over when she was pregnant with me," I asked, confused.

"And nausea that lasted for the entire pregnancy," Mom groaned. "Not just for the first trimester like it's said to be."

"Oh," I said, rubbing the tense-muscle to be relaxed again. "You didn't by any chance invent something for that nausea, did you?"

"Yeah," Mom said. "I had to. Even with Jazz, my nausea was unbearable."

"I hear ya," I said, taking shallow breaths. "I don't think this is going to work," I said as I stood up and ran outside.

"There he goes again," Sam declared as I ran out the back door. I heard the couch squeak as probably Sam and Tucker came to my aid.

"Ginger Ale, please," I said, throwing up my crackers and applesauce.

Mom came to the door with the Ginger Ale. "It always helps me with nausea," she said softly. I slowly sipped it.

"Thanks," I said between drinks. I just may kill Vlad for this. After I finished the cup, I walked back to the kitchen. I opened the refrigerator and pulled out the apple juice.

"Oh, no you don't," Sam said, taking the jug. "I think you've had enough apples today."

"Give me that apple juice," I said, reaching for it. I felt like a wild animal that had its kill taken away. I wanted that jug. "Give it," I cried as I jumped for it.

"Danny," Sam declared. "I think that there's something wrong with those apples!"

"There's nothing wrong with the apples," I declared, taking another swipe at it. "Give me that jug!"

"Uh, Sam," Tucker said, his voice fearful. "I think maybe you should give him the apple juice."

"Why—oh," Sam said. She handed me the jug, "Calm down, big guy."

Once 'my beloved' was in my hands, I felt the stinging. "Oh," I said, blushing. "Oops."

"Over an apple juice jug," Sam said, shaking her head. "I've seen everything."

"You should have seen Maddie when you'd deny her cabbage when she was pregnant with Danny," Dad commented.

"Mom craved cabbage when she was pregnant with me," I asked, horrified. I hate cabbage.

"We joke that I ate so much that you hate it now," Mom laughed. "But I ate cabbage in all conditions. Raw, cooked, shredded, you name it."

"Huh," I smirked. "Maybe she won't like them after all."

"What," Mom asked me, cocking her head to the side.

"Nothing," I said, inwardly cursing myself. That was stupid.

"I'm telling you, Maddie," Dad smirked. "If Danny doesn't resemble you when you were pregnant, then I'm a monkey's uncle!"

I bowed my head, trying not to show how uncomfortable this conversation was making me. I hoped my failed attempts would just show up as embarrassment about when Mom was pregnant with me.

"How can a boy resemble a pregnant woman," Tucker retorted. "That's ridiculous."

"Well, obviously there are some similarities. I guess I'm just reminiscing."

"I've done that a lot," Mom sighed. "They grow up so fast."

"Ha," Sam retorted. "We don't grow up fast enough! It just drags on and on."

"I don't know," I commented. I took a drink of my apple juice. "We grew up fast."

"Grew," Dad laughed. "Danny, you're only fourteen!"

"Going on eighty," I groaned. "I don't feel fourteen."

"Well, you are," Mom smiled. "You just need to learn to slow down."

"It's not about learning," Tucker groaned. "It's about finding a moment to slow down with us."

"It's like trying to stop the clock," Sam groaned.

"Speaking of which," Tucker said, turning to me. I placed my cup back on the counter. "Has he ever returned?"

"Clockwork," I asked. "No! He's done."

"Well, what about the Observants. They're not just going to go away."

"They'll try to find another way," I said, picking up the cup and taking another drink. "I'll be ready when they attack. I have more important issues."

"Yeah," Sam agreed with me. "Like Invincible for instances. He made it clear he's not going to back down."

"Yeah," I smirked. "And he's getting smarter." I walked back to the couch after finishing my cup of apple juice. "That last attack was a doozy."

"You don't have to tell us," Sam groaned. "We were there."

"That also worries me," I sighed as I sat down. "You two are involved too but he doesn't know that. If he finds out about your involvement… I mean, if anything happens to me, you guys still have the ability to take over."

"We'd have to challenge him," Sam said, hugging her arms to her chest. "Technically, if you die he gets the throne. We're just a part of that system. He doesn't have to kill the Duke or the Duchess."

"But it's not like him to leave things to chance," I commented. "He's learned that I'm adaptable and I'm innovated. He might take you guys out to secure his rule."

"I'd like that," Tucker said, crossing his arms across his chest. "We're stronger together. When he picks on just you, he's getting us at our most vulnerable."

"Yeah, but when someone goes after us, Danny's his most vulnerable," Sam commented.

"I can take care of myself," I commented. "I'm just worried about you guys. I mean, Jazz doesn't even understand this but would she be included because she's my sister. What about my parents? Mom and Dad would be defenseless against Invincible."

"Hey," Mom and Dad declared.

"I wouldn't worry about them," Sam commented. "I mean, as far as you can tell, he has no clue. I think if we keep it like that, then we can keep them safe."

"We are more than capable," Mom declared.

"Yeah," Tucker remarked. "Well, Invincible is one bad ass ghost. He had us captured, Danny surrounded and if Plasmius didn't show up… I hate to imagine what would have happened."

"Nothing," I said, locking eyes with him. "I've already told you. He didn't leave a scratch."

"But do you think that would have stopped him," Tucker said. "Danny, I've heard the rumors. I know the truth now."

Shit! "Tucker," I said, my voice soft.

"Damn it, Danny, you didn't even tell us," Tucker cut in. "You made it out to be a scrape. It was more than that."

"No it wasn't," I retorted. "It wasn't even a scrape. It didn't hurt. I wasn't hurt."

"What," Sam called, her voice desperate. "Tucker, what did you learn that I didn't?"

"No," I interrupted Tucker.

"No," Tucker said at the same time as me but softer. My voice actually drowned out his voice. "No, Sam. I won't hurt you that way."

"Don't you dare," Sam said, her eyes narrowing. "Don't you dare try to 'protect' me like Danny 'protects' me. Damn it, Foley, you know what that does to me!"

"This is one thing that I agree with Danny on," Tucker said, his voice soft. "I wish I didn't know."

"I'm sorry you had to find out," I said, my voice low.

"I just don't get how you go through these things," Tucker said, his eyes watering. "How do you do this alone?"

"Who says I'm alone," I asked, smiling softly at him. "I've never been alone. It took me a while to figure that out but now I know. I have always had you guys by my side and you have no idea how good that feels. All the hell I've gone through and all the hell I'll go through, you guys have been by my side since day one. I am truly blessed."

"In a cursed kind of way," Sam said, her voice soft. "I am so sorry, Danny."

I stood up and walked over to her, taking her in my arms, "Hey." I looked her in the eye, "How many times do I have to say you are not responsible?"

"Until you don't believe it anymore," Sam whispered.

I pulled her close, rubbing her hair. She fit like a glove. She truly was the missing piece that made me fit. I forgot how this could feel. I have never held her like this and it made my knees weak.

Sam whispered something but my attention was directed to the center of the room. I let go of her, knowing that feeling. What the hell?

Vlad in his ghost form, to my horror, teleported into the middle of the living room. "There you are," Vlad declared.

"What the hell," I asked, my mind racing. I walked away from Sam to come close to him. "What are you doing here?"

"What am I doing here," Vlad asked in shock. "I'm going to drag you back, kicking and screaming!"

"Do not start this," I declared.

"Get away from my son," my mom declared and I froze. I spun around and saw that they weren't being controlled.

"Vlad," I gasped. "Control them!"

"I told you that you could come back," Vlad said. "How am I supposed to explain that without telling them about us?"

"Whoa," I shot at him. "I told you yesterday that I wasn't going with you! I have obligations that I have to take care of and you are pushing the damn limit!"

"Daniel, I won't jeopardize you or him," Vlad said.

"Shut up," I declared. "Now control them!"

"No," Vlad replied.

I stepped up to him, "You control them or they will see me kick your ass!"

"We're going home," Vlad said, his hand going out to touch mine.

"Let go of my son," Dad declared, pulling out a weapon.

"Vlad, now," I declared. I ripped my arm out of his hand. "You are two seconds from destroying this!"

"I'm doing what I have to do to protect my wife and my son," Vlad said. He grabbed my arm again.

"Vlad," I said. My eyes started to tear up. I was being forced, in the real world, to choose and I wasn't making the same decision that I made in my dream. Vlad was getting into the way of too many important things. He wouldn't come out on top here.

"I'm sorry," Vlad said.

"So am I," I said as I done a swift jerk. The twist of my body twisted Vlad's arm to an extended length and I took that opportunity to use my free arm to jab him in the gut. Tears slipped out of my eyes as I hit him. It was tearing me apart.

"Daniel," Vlad asked, hurt.

"You're demanding too much," I said, the tears freely falling. "I'm sorry." I sent out a kick and a few punches. Vlad caught maybe three of them but he was too afraid of hurting the baby or me. I know this because of one time he did lay a hand on me. It was a normal gasp but he nearly came unglued. Finally, he stopped.

"I'm sorry," Vlad said, his voice soft.

"It's too late for that," I said, wiping the tears away. "Now, leave."

"Daniel," Vlad asked, his heart sagging.

"Leave," I screamed. The tears spewed down my face and I know I was making my family confused. Vlad teleported out of the house and I hit my knees, fully sobbing. No one gathered around me from the shock. All the better. "I'm sorry," I spoke softly. I entered into everyone's mind, opening them for myself to peer in.

It was so weird. I could see myself from their point of view. I wasn't looking for myself, I was looking through them. Tucker was baffled about the spectacle but he was refusing to let it slide as another brush off. He was going to dog me until he found out the truth. The way I remember the fight played differently in his mind. Whereas I pointed out my flaws, Tucker was pointing out my strong points. Many of the things that Vlad did right didn't show up in Tucker's mind. They were just blurs.

I didn't know how to do this but I have a pretty good idea of how my powers work so I'll take it from there. I want them to forget something so eraser. I could imagine the eraser in Tucker's mind and I was applying it to those memories. They disappeared like dust to a broom. Finally, I released Tucker. I swayed back and forth, the transformation draining me.

"Danny," Mom called my name. I looked to my right to see her, holding my shoulder still. "Honey, what's the matter?"

I focused on Sam alone this time instead of having to focus on her later. Sam found out. She was steaming on the inside and imagining many ways to torture Vlad. Of course, Lilly was a mystery to her but she did know that Vlad and I were in a relationship and that it started out as rape. I imagined the eraser again and started to clean the images. Finally, her last memory was wrapped up in my arms. I pulled from her thoughts.

The next person's memories I entered into was Jazz. Jazz too had figured out the relationship Vlad and I used to have. I took a shaky breath, focusing on just erasing the memories. I imagined the eraser and started to clear the revelation. However, once I reached the beginning of the situation, I couldn't go any further. I tried to erase the tense moments between Vlad and I but they remained put.

When I pulled out of her memories, I swayed more wildly this time. I fell over, catching myself against the wall before I collapsed. I focused on Dad next not because he was my next choice but because I was afraid I was losing strength. I began to erase his memory but before I got to the climax of the fight, I was losing my grip on his mind. I made it all the way back to when he told Vlad to let go of me and I was expelled forcefully.

I fell over this time, hitting the ground hard. I focused on Mom and I screamed out as I passed her protective layers. I was living in dual worlds now, like they were overlapping themselves. In the real world, my hands shook as I was wrestling with my own strength. My entire family was surrounding me except for my mom. She remained frozen where I left her as I entered her mind. I screamed out in the real world as I started to lose control. I focused again.

_You don't have to do this_, Mom declared. I could clearly hear her voice. _You're hurting yourself Danny. Obviously, you've used up too much power._

I can do this, I declared. The added strain forced my physical plane form to scream as my spiritual plane form started to black out. No! I imagined the eraser and it appeared but my real world form started to convulse. I began to wipe the memory of Mom discovering I had ghost powers from her mind and a jolt shot through my spiritual form. My physical form shrieked, my agonized screams flooding the house. It was taking too much energy. More than I currently had. I erased too much with Sam and Tucker. I'm not a mind control ghost so I don't have unlimited abilities. This would be a lot easier on Vlad.

My gentle strokes over the memory only erased certain memories, layer by layer. Mom forgot all things about a son or a mysterious him, she forgot about Vlad making a claim on me, she forgot my tears. Finally, I erased all traces of ghostly powers from her mind as her mind collapsed onto itself. I saw Mom collapse in her spot and everything went black.

O_O

I groggily opened my eyes as aches resonated all over my body. I groaned as I put my hand to my head. I sat up on the bed to see Mom lying still unconscious beside me. I threw my legs over the edge of the bed and slowly made my way to the bed beside of me. I looked around but no one was around so I phased my hand in her side. As she began to come to, I wobbled back over to my bed and lay down. I closed my eyes, pretending to still be asleep.

"What happened," Mom groaned as she came to. I heard her rise up on the bed then she declared, "Danny!"

"What," I groaned.

"What happened, baby," Mom asked me as she wobbly came to her feet. How do I explain that I erased your memory, overexerted myself and caused both of our spiritual worlds to collapse?

"I don't know."

"What happened to the Wisconsin Ghost," Mom asked me.

"I don't know," I repeated. "The last thing I remember was fighting him."

"Did he do this," Mom asked. "You kept asking him to control us. What did that mean?"

Shoot! I should have erased that moment. I don't think I had any more strength to erase anything, though. I had reached the end of my powers. "I don't remember that. I know the Wisconsin Ghost, or Plasmius, has mind control. He might have been controlling us and that's why we collapsed."

"If he overexerted himself, that may be possible," Mom said, thinking. "But I don't think he has mind control if he overexerted himself. He must only have the basics of mind control."

"All ghosts have mind control," I asked, mocking surprise.

"That's where their powers come from," Mom answered. "All of the powers are connected in the brain so when a ghost uses powers, he's using mind control. That's basically all a ghost is. A mentalist."

Footsteps began to descend the stairs rapidly. Sam, Tucker, Jazz and Dad came around the door but stopped abruptly upon seeing us awake. "You're awake," Dad declared, rushing to my bed to take both of us in his arms. "I was so worried!"

"We were just talking," Mom replied, hugging Dad back. "Danny can't remember what happened either. I think that Wisconsin Ghost done this."

"You remember Plasmius attacking too," Tucker declared, exasperated.

"Well, I sure don't," Sam declared.

"I remember this ghost coming in but it's fuzzy," Jazz replied. "It's like I can't get a strong signal."

"I don't remember anything," I replied. "I remember Plasmius but it gets fuzzy from there, too."

"I say we pay him a visit and find out what he did to us," Sam declared.

"No," I declared. "I've told you Plasmius is no one to mess with!"

"What time is it," Mom asked suddenly.

"Six-thirty," Tucker said, looking to his watch.

"Crap," I declared. "We're late!"

"I'm sure the ghosts will forgive you," Jazz declared, rolling her eyes.

"I'm not looking for the ghosts' forgiveness," I declared, "It's the humans who would never forgive me!"

Mom stood up. "Let's go," she declared.

"You shouldn't go anywhere," I objected. "You were unconscious."

"So were you," Mom retorted.

"Fine," I grumbled. "But let's go. I know the ghosts out this time of night. They like to wreak havoc."

O_O

Five ghosts awaited us when we hit the streets. Sam, Tuck and I took a collective sigh of relief but Mom, Dad and Jazz stared in shock at the mini-chaos that was going on. Sam and Tucker sat back, smirking, as I began my daily ritual. The first ghost I got my hands on was always the poorest creature of the day. However, today, even I pitied the fool. I might be weakened by my little stunt earlier but I'm also stressed. The four lucky ones scattered and left the weakest of the group. He tried to escape but I grabbed him before he had the chance.

"Wait," he cried as I threw him in the opposite direction. The ghost looked around wildly but I was upon him before he could come up with a plan. I took my first swing at him and relief flooded my system. I took it easy on him so that he had a chance. As soon as he took that first swing, then I'd allow all my emotions to flood out at once. The ghost backed away, bringing up ecto-energy in his hands. I groaned, pulling the reflector out of my back pocket.

He shot the first blast at me and I deflected it with the small invention. I hated using my parents' inventions because nothing worked quite like my powers but I couldn't very well use that power in front of my parents. The ghost shot a couple blasts which I deflected easy. He wasn't trying yet. He knows that once he tries, it's all over.

"What's with you," he asked me, his confidence building. "You're using human weaponry."

"I know that," I retorted, resting the reflector by my side. "My parents are observing. If you call me any of my nicknames, I will make your life a living hell."

"I'm your first," he retorted. "What more could you do to me?"

"You mean besides keep you locked in the thermos for days instead of hours," I said, cocking my head.

"You wouldn't," he hissed.

"You want to test that theory," I said, giving him a cocky grin.

"Fine," he declared. "Let's get this over with. I'm fighting a lost cause." He clenched his eyes shut and threw his hand out lazily. I allowed it to hit for good measure. He wouldn't hit me again, anyway. He gasped as his fist came into contact with my chin. I grinned back at him. "Oh, shit."

I dug my fist in his gut, sending him leaning forward. In a smooth movement, I sent my fist up to his chin. He became inverted again but I didn't stop. I slammed my fist into his chin again, but this time he went flying several feet. He came to his feet, his eyes scanning for me. I used my elbow to jab into his back. He never looked behind him. He turned in my direction, his fist aimed for my head. I ducked his charge, allowing him to lose his balance. I used my foot to push him down.

That's enough. "You done," I asked.

"Yes," he replied, his aura fluctuating.

"Thanks for the outlet," I said, pulling out my thermos. I sucked him inside and returned the cap.

"Danny," Sam breathed. "That was a bit much, even for you."

"I'm a little stressed today," I said, releasing a big breath. "Well, did you guys get any of the others?"

"We got two," Tucker answered, "but your little spectacle captured our attention."

"Sorry," I replied. "I'll get the remaining two. It shouldn't take long."

I spotted the two ghosts, pulled out a gun from my pocket, expanded it and fired two shots. The ghosts fell to the ground and I sucked them in the thermos. I always drag out the first ghost. It's an excellent stress reliever.

"Whoa," Jazz cried. "That took you two seconds!"

"Did it take that long," I asked, going over the scene in my head. "Oh, well. We've got to go. There's probably more on the other side of town."

"Five ghosts and it's only been two minutes," Mom declared, her voice displaying her shock.

"We're lucky," Tucker sighed happily. "Normally, there's a lot more if we're this late."

O_O

By seven o'clock, Mom and Dad understood the severity of the situation our town was in. By eight, they had realized that they were in over their head. By nine, they were scared. Ghost after ghost, attack after attack, capture after capture; Mom and Dad now understood why we were always so busy. They had no idea that there were that many ghosts, much less that that many were attacking our town on a daily basis. At nine-thirty, we started for home as we always do. Sam was safely inside her house by nine-forty-five and Tucker by nine-fifty.

"You should be home by curfew today," Dad said the magic phrase. My eyes scanned the skies.

"Just wait for it," I said, walking slowly.

"What is it," Mom asked me as her eyes too went to the sky. Their glows breeched the horizon and I saw the first ghost.

"That," I said, crouching. "Stay down and don't come out for anything! Don't make a sound. I'll be all right."

"Oh, my God," Jazz gasped aloud first. Mom and Dad just audibly gasped as their numbers started to increase.

"Get down," I turned in their direction. I whipped my head in the direction my attackers were coming from. Skulker was leading the group.

"Hello, whelp," Skulker grinned.

"Howdy," I smirked. I charged at Skulker, taking his arm off his shoulder first. My family gasped in the back.

"Who's that," another ghost, Reggie laughed. "We have humans."

"Stay away from them," I screamed, taking off Skulker's head. It rolled to the ground but I left it alone. I wrapped my hand around a light pole, throwing myself in his advancing direction. The force sent Reggie back.

"These humans mean something to ya, halfa," he smirked. "Well, I mights wanna dispose of em, if ya know what I mean."

"If you know what's best for you, Reggie, you'd stay away from them," I said, my voice going low.

"I ain't never been scared of ya, halfa," Reggie said, a wicked smile in his eyes, "Ya know that."

"And you would be if you were smart," I screamed at him as I kicked him back. Reggie charged at me, on the offensive. I took the defense, blocking every hit he made.

"Hey, ya, George! Get those humans while I'ma dealing with the halfa," Reggie called.

"No," I retorted. I took the offense, kicking him in his core. He howled in pain with the force my kick inflicted. I retrieved my thermos, sucking Reggie in.

I ran towards my family, reaching George before he reached my family. I grabbed him by his shirt and yanked backwards. The force sent him sliding further than I intended. George rose up, flying in my direction. I blocked his attacks but lined my arms over top the other. I forced the formation at his chest, breaking his formation. I swung my fist a couple times, knocking him to the ground.

About a third of them had fled at this point and only eight remained. Two ghosts charged at me at the same time. I swung out of the way and rested right behind them. I shoved my fists in their backs, grabbing their clothes. I tossed them in the air, bringing out my thermos and capturing them. Six more. While I was thinking about it, I sucked George and Skulker in the thermos. I returned my thermos to my belt.

Two of the ghost fled at that point while three of them charged at me. I grabbed the ghost closest to me, using him as a missile for the remaining two. He crashed into the other charging ghost and they all landed on the final ghost. The last ghost climbed out of the pile and fled while the other two sat dazed. I retrieved my thermos and sucked them inside. I looked around; all ghosts taken care of.

I walked over to my family and helped them to their feet, "Are you okay?"

"Danny," Mom breathed, absolutely terrified. "How did you learn to do that?"

"Practice," I grimaced. "Let's go home."

We walked through the door, Dad stating, "Ten-oh-one."

"Welcome to my life," I sighed. "Goodnight."

O_O

My right arm laid limp to my side as I climbed up the rope with only my left arm. I don't know whether to call that fight with Invincible a success or a failure. On the high note, I only got sliced once. On the low note, it was my own damn fault I was sliced at all. I knew better than to put up that ecto-energy Ghost Stinger shield without first repairing it but I still did it. Invincible's Ectoranium sliced through that busted shield like hot knife through butter.

Once inside, I made my way over to the bed and removed my first aid kit. I wondered if I should ask Mom for help. She had fallen asleep in the chair waiting for me to come home. I decided I could do it myself and I cleared the glass. After I wrapped it though, I had difficulty fastening the bandage. I reluctantly walked over to Mom, holding the pin in place but very poorly.

"Mom," I asked softly. "Mom?"

"Huh," Mom snapped awake. "Danny?"

"Would you mind fastening this pin," I asked.

"What happened," she said as she fastened it.

"I got sliced," I said, my voice hard. "I made a stupid miscalculation and I paid for it."

Mom looked to the clock but she gasped loudly, "It's three-forty-five," Mom declared.

"I'm fifteen minutes late," I said, yawning. "You can go to bed, now. I'm in for the night."

"You mean for the morning," Mom declared. "Danny, this is too late for you to be out."

"I'm fine," I replied. I climbed into bed, snuggling into the covers. "Goodnight."

"Sleep tight, baby," Mom sighed. She walked out of my room, closing my door. I drifted off to sleep.

O_O

Much too soon, the tapping returned. Invincible had come late tonight so that meant he was the last ghost I faced. Shortly after his energy vanished from the area, the normal ghosts returned. Ghosts started tapping on the wall behind my bed, crying, "Phantom, come out and play!" I covered my head with my pillow but it did little to drown out the incessant tapping.

"I'm still human," I screamed, turning over. A gasp and a shriek sounded and I jumped out of bed. I lit up my hand with Ectoplasm to see Sam standing in my room but reaching outside my window. Her butt sat straight in the air, her skirt nearly exposing her. Then I got to thinking about why she was like that. The shriek. "Tucker!"

I rushed over, taking one of his hands from Sam and helping her pull him into my room. Tucker started shaking on the floor, breathing hard. His glasses sat crooked on his face. "Don't scare me like that again," Tucker retorted, repositioning his glasses.

"What are you guys doing here," I asked, keeping the glow in place with my free hand. It was more for them than it was for me. I could see perfectly.

"You didn't call," Sam retorted. "We were worried and then you screamed about being human. You scared us!"

"Sorry," I replied. "The ghosts were aggravating me."

"What ghosts," Tucker asked, standing up.

I pointed to the wall behind me, "They're on the other side, tapping the wall. I used to shoot them when they were at the window so they've started to tap at the wall because it would be harder for me to shoot them. Doesn't mean I can't," I screamed at the ghosts. "Sorry I didn't call. Invincible showed up tonight."

"What," Sam said, fearful. "Did you get hurt?"

I pulled my pajama top down to expose the cut on my upper arm, "Just one slash. It was my own fault. I pulled the glass out and bandaged it."

"How was it your fault," Tucker said, crossing his arms.

"I didn't repair my shield," I replied. "I use my ecto-energy and my Ghost Stinger to create a shield and it can block the Ectoranium as long as I keep filling in the grooves Invincible cuts in my shield. I didn't that time and the shield broke, his sword cutting my arm. That was the only time he touched me."

"Good," Sam said. "Get some rest," She said, turning me to the bed. "We'll be over here on the cots."

"Okay," I said, lying down in the bed. I wasn't up for arguing. I was too tired.

O_O

Wednesday came and I gave Valerie the doll. I had been stuck with it all evening yesterday because I passed out but Valerie agreed to keep it all day at school and I would take it at the end of school. I was starting to see a pattern. Valerie did most of her patrolling in the early afternoon before her shift at the Nasty Burger so she was keeping that time free. I wasn't too concerned about it. The doll had more of a chance to survive with me than it did with her and everyone knew that the ghosts didn't really start to attack until the evening. They just came out during school hours because of the crowd.

Sam and Tucker were starting to get on each other's nerves now that they had been working together for three days. Tucker had the doll in baggy clothes and wearing a beret while Sam would redress it in Goth when she had the baby. They weren't arguing about the sex of the baby because it wasn't a flour sack but they were arguing about its attitude and personality. This was going much differently than I expected from what I saw on the show. It's more real and not so cartoonish. I still wonder what's going to happen at the end of the week when the assignments were accidently baked in a cookie. I guess I'll have to wait to find out.

After detention, I went to therapy. I wrote down something in detention and I hoped she wouldn't notice that it was done in a hurry. I have enough to do without worrying about a therapy class. We discussed a few things but I was more interested in something else.

"I broke up with Vlad," I said, my voice small.

She didn't see that coming, "What?" Her smile grew. "What made you realize?"

"Nothing," I declared, covering my face with my hands. "He pushed me too hard. I didn't want to but what else was I supposed to do!"

"Oh," she said, her voice more reserved. "What happened?"

"He tried to take me from my family," I whispered. "I got hurt on Sunday and he freaked out. He has a right to be afraid but doesn't he trust me!"

"I can't answer for Vlad," she said softly, "but you can get through this. You're strong and independent. You don't need him."

"I know," I said, breathing deeply. "But that doesn't make it any easier. I've buried it so deeply that I don't believe I even understand that we're over. I keep expecting to forgive him but I haven't yet."

"Have you seen him since your breakup," she asked me.

"No," I sighed. "I think he's giving me space but I don't think I'll forgive him when he does return. I warned him and he ignored me."

"I know you're conflicted," she said, "but you need to hold your ground. This will be the basis of your relationship if you go back to him."

"I'm not going back," I declared. "He knew that he was the second most important thing in my life but how well does he think he does when stacked up to the rest of my world? I would have sacrificed my life and the life of my daughter to save my family. I can't be any more sacrificial."

"That's true," she agreed. "You need to hold your ground. When you're not compatible, you just aren't compatible. If you go back to him, the rest of your relationship will be nothing but fights."

O_O

I arrived at the Nasty Burger at five-forty-five, actually on time. However, I was surprised to find not only Sam and Tucker waiting for me, but the rest of my family there, too. I came to a stop in front of the two tables that held my family, groaning.

"What are you three doing here," I asked, looking at my parents and sister.

"We're not letting you three do this alone," Mom said, turning in the booth to look at me. "You kids are overwhelmed. We have been working all afternoon to be at better service today."

"You guys nearly got hurt last night," I sighed. Sam and Tucker turned in their booth to look at me now. "I don't want to see you guys hurt. These things can get messy."

"We know you can take care of yourself, Danny, but we also want to let you know we're here for you," Jazz said, her voice soft.

"We don't know that he can take care of himself," Mom declared, her eyes momentarily snapping to Jazz. "Danny came in last night at three-forty-five hurt! He got up this morning with no signs that he had only got three hours of sleep!"

"I wasn't hurt that bad," I declared, smirking at Jazz. "I just got cut."

"Just got cut," Mom declared in sarcasm. My smirk went to her now. "Danny, I don't know how bad you got hurt last night. You had it cleaned and wrapped before I could see it!"

"My point exactly," I smiled at her. "I did everything myself. If I was hurt bad, I would have called someone. I even climbed up the rope on my own last night. I wasn't really hurt."

"What happened last night after you dropped us off," Sam asked.

I turned in her direction, dropping my smirk. "The ghosts ambushed me like always except this time they saw Mom, Dad and Jazz. They tried to hurt me through hurting them."

"Danny was amazing," Jazz said. I turned to her and her face was lit up in a smile. "I bet there were twenty or more ghosts there when they first attacked but he only captured eight of them." Jazz started giggling, "The rest ran away screaming."

I smirked at her again, "It wasn't a big deal. Most of the ghosts involved in the ambushes flee before actually facing me. Most don't have the guts to face me in the end."

"It still frightens me," Mom said, her voice soft. "There were so many of them there. It could have really turned ugly last night."

"You don't need to worry about me," I said, looking at Mom now. I dropped the smirk and gave her the most serious look I could muster. I knew she was afraid. Mom worried about me when I got a paper cut.

"You know I always worry about you," Mom said, taking my hand in hers. "I always will."

"I know," I smiled softly at her. I turned to Sam and Tucker, "Have you guys got something to eat?"

"Yeah," Sam said, clearing her throat. "Do you want to go out earlier than we usually do?"

"I'm thinking about it," I said, crossing my arms across my chest. "I've got a bad feeling about tonight."

"That can't be good," Tucker said, grabbing his bag. Sam slid out of the booth followed by Tucker. They were now in a rush.

"What's going on," Mom asked as Jazz slid out of the booth. Dad looked at us in confusion.

"Danny's got a bad feeling," Jazz remarked, reaching in her bag. She pulled out the peeler.

"Put that away," I declared. "I'll let you know when things might get hairy but that doesn't mean you'll get involved!"

Mom and Dad slid out of their booth, coming to stand beside us. They were very confused. "I don't understand," Dad said, cocking his head. "Why is it that Danny says he has a bad feeling and you guys react?"

"I don't know," I groaned. "They just do that!"

"You'll see," Tucker smirked. "You'll become a believer today."

I rolled my eyes but started for the door. Sam and Tucker were on my heels while Jazz followed closely behind. Mom and Dad brought up the rear, keeping up but not in such a hurry. I hoped my gut was wrong but it rarely is.

O_O

It was not even seven o'clock and we were already capturing more than fifty ghosts. I was getting worried. When the night draws to a close, that's usually when the ghost activity increases. We were just getting started and we had already exceeded our normal numbers. I did not want to see what this place would look like between eight tonight and four in the morning.

"Mom, Dad, Jazz," I said, my voice growing panicked. I could sense their numbers increasing, "I think it's time for you to leave!"

"What," Mom declared. "You can't be serious. It's getting worse!"

"I know," I declared. A spike in energy exploded to my left. I turned in that direction but I sensed that its magnitude increased every second. It's a blast. "Get down," I cried, taking Mom, Dad and Jazz to the ground. I gently lowered them down with my strength and turned around. One of the more sinister ghosts during my daytime patrol floated a few feet off the ground. "Hanover!"

"Pleasure seeing you again," he smirked at me. "Sorry to play dirty but you give me no choice, Phantom."

I glared at him, "Why'd you turn this way? You used to be harmless!"

"You forced me to become offensive," he said, his voice rising with authority. "If you had allowed me to feed in your haunt, then maybe we wouldn't be enemies."

"You never were much of a threat," I said, my voice soft, "but that doesn't matter. I won't allow you or anyone else to feed on these innocent people!"

Mom came to her feet, "Who is this?"

"Victor Hanover," I said, my voice level. "He became more sinister in his attacks when I refused to allow him a pass."

"I never meant to harm anyone," Hanover said, his voice soft. "I apologize if I harmed you, ma'am. I was only attacking the boy."

"That boy is my son," Mom declared. "You won't touch one hair on his head!"

"Mom," I declared. "He's more powerful than you think!"

"Damn straight," Tucker retorted. "This ghost is like Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde."

"He can go from curious to sinister in instances," Sam added, her voice hard. All three of us had our eyes glued to Hanover. He was so unpredictable.

"You guys need to get out of here," I declared. "Jazz, get them out of here!"

Jazz pulled out her peeler again, this time activating it, "I'm staying and fighting!" Damn!

"No," Sam and Tucker cried.

"Are you challenging me," Hanover said, his voice becoming threatening.

"Hanover," I screamed. "Mom, please. Take Jazz and Dad and go!"

I pulled out a reflector but I knew it wasn't enough. I needed to go ghost to defeat Hanover. Once I was in my ghost form then I could take care of him but as a human, I was in trouble.

Sam and Tucker pulled out bazookas and extended them.

"You go after them and you'll deal with us," Tucker shouted. "Fight us and we'll go easy. Attack them and you'll get what you got last time you hurt Danny!"

Hanover's glow did lessen. That day was amazing but I'm not sure if Sam and Tucker could repeat it. Hanover was alone that day. There are several ghosts here tonight and I don't know if they're part of his party or if they've come simply at the same time. "The girl shows signs of wanting to invoke a fight with me. I am not attacking you. Just the boy!"

"Then let's leave this between us," I shouted up. "You and me! Just like you want it to be!"

"That works for me but you must keep your helpers out of this, ghost boy," Hanover declared. "I will not abide by your rules if you play unfair."

"What," Mom called as I glared harder at Hanover. "What did you call my son?"

"Ignore him, Mom," I said, keeping my eyes on Hanover. "Come down here and let's dance!"

"Don't you usually like to take to the skies," Hanover asked me. Damnit! I went all day yesterday without anyone calling me my ghostly nicknames but obviously, I'm not getting the luck I got yesterday.

"Just come down here and fight me," I barked. Hopefully I could pull my fat from the fire after I finish this. "Sam, Tucker! Can I count on you to get them home safely?"

"What," Tucker declared. "What if you need us?"

"Tucker," Sam hissed. Her voice was low so I didn't know if a normal person could hear her. "You know Danny needs to go ghost to defeat him!" I'm guessing that she is … or at least that's her idea.

"Oh," Tucker replied quietly. They began to try to usher Mom, Dad and Jazz out of there. Jazz began to help once Sam explained to her what she explained to Tucker. Mom and Dad refused to leave as Hanover and I circled each other. Somehow, Sam, Tucker and Jazz managed to drag them away before the fight began.

"Sorry about that," I said, triggering my rings. "My parents have recently become aware of my ghost hunting expeditions but they still don't know my secret. I had my hands tied."

"Oh," Hanover exclaimed, his mood reserved. "I was wondering what was up with you. Nice to know it was just human related."

I charged at him and he came to meet me in the middle. Hanover wasn't very good at combat but he was an excellent marksman with his energy. I tried to keep our battles equal by engaging in hand-to-hand combat very few times but most times, I still fought him with my combat skills. I do blame myself for how bloody our battles have become because Hanover wasn't that bad. He's still not bad when it comes to others but I can't allow my emotions to corrupt me. Hanover can't be allowed to feed on the citizens of my town.

I rocketed a few blasts from my hands but Hanover captured them in a shield. I looked behind me, trying to find something to take cover behind but nothing stood out. I pulled up a shield but knew it would do little against the bomb Hanover just created. He tossed his shield that had been infused with my energy at me but my shield did little to protect me. The shield collapsed and the force of the explosion sent me flying. I screamed from the loss of control but managed to fall harmlessly through one of the buildings.

I focused on hitting something from this world and slammed several meters into the earth. I shook the dirt and concrete from my hair and rocketed back to the scene of the fight. I need to learn to better judge the force coming off me before I do that! I could do a lot less damage if I learned to do that!

I sent a few more blasts, this time aimed at the ground. They were meant to be a decoy and it worked beautifully. Hanover's eyes watched the spectacle while I sent more blasts in his direction. With his eyes on the decoy, he was vulnerable to attack. He flew through the air.

I kept my mind open to his energy and I sensed him below my feet. I turned around, anticipating him coming from behind me. I took in my family's signatures and discovered them surrounded by other ghosts. It panicked me but I could sense that they were in control. They were fighting the other ghosts that I had sensed before Hanover's attack.

Hanover popped up through the ground a few inches from my face but I was prepared for him. I grabbed his shirt and tossed him into the air. I flew up to meet him. He was right. I did love fighting in the air. It made the fight much more predictable because there was less spaces for them to hide. When you can go intangible or can phase through objects of this world, things can go in any direction.

"I was wondering when you'd take us up here," Hanover chuckled. "Doesn't matter either way! I'll probably still lose."

"Then why do you engage in these battles," I declared.

"You've got to fight for what you believe in, Phantom. Tell me, if you need food and the only place you could get what you need was being controlled by someone determined to keep you out, wouldn't you fight despite knowing the outcome." His voice rose, "I have a family, Phantom but we have nothing! This is the only place I can bring back food! Tell me you wouldn't face the entire world if it meant your child could eat!"

My throat swelled. This was the most intimate conversation we had ever had. "I didn't know, Hanover."

"Of course not," he declared. "You have no idea what it's like inside that Zone! When you're hungry, you don't die! You lose precious energy! Energy that helps protect your family. When you run out of energy, you die. When a ghost runs out of energy, he's defenseless. Stronger ghosts, of course, could kill us but they usually don't. We're usually forced to suffer through our humiliation."

"I can't allow you to feed off these people," I said, my voice soft, "but I can help you another way." I relaxed my posture, "Could you meet me at the Ghost King's castle tonight. Say around ten-thirty."

"Why," Hanover asked, his body not as relaxed as mine but more so than before.

"I can help you feed your family," I replied. "I know you need actual fear to boost your energies but I can give you food first. I'll come up with another way to give you fear later."

"What's your reasons," he asked me, his posture finally relaxing.

"I have a family of my own," I said softly. I placed my hand on my stomach, "I'm pregnant and I would do anything for my daughter. I guess you could say I already understand."

"You're pregnant," he asked, surprised. "I didn't know you were involved with anyone. Is it a woman or a man?"

"The father is a man," I answered, "but we're not together."

"Oh," he said, his voice softer. "I should have known. That stench is unmistakable."

"Yeah," I sighed. "But that's not the reason we're not together. It's complicated and I'd rather not explain it."

"You don't have to," Hanover replied. "Ten-thirty at the Ghost King's castle. You got it."

"Thanks," I smiled.

"No, thank you," he said as he flew away. Like Tucker said: Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde.

O_O

I kept my word and went to the castle after evening patrol but before nighttime patrol. Steven and the record keeper were on my heels before I walked through the double doors. They were not happy that I hadn't returned since Sunday. I didn't have time for their accusations.

"You," I said, barking at the record keeper, "I'll talk to you later. Go! You," I said, turning to Steven, "I need to know if we have enough funds to set up a soup kitchen."

"Actually, sire, that would be my department," the record keeper addressed me.

"He's the pope," I asked, confused. "Shouldn't that be his department?"

"When you order that kind of service I would distribute that but it is Anastasius who would tell you if we could afford it."

"Whatever," I retorted. "Mr. Record Keeper, do we have the funds?"

"We do, sire," he addressed. "You have the riches of all Kingdoms: Pippin, Pariah, and the Observants. If you so wish, we could assist the peasants."

"Set it up," I said, turning to Steven. "Spread the word that all is welcome and don't take a cent. If you need any money or food, let me know. I can bring some from the real world."

"As you wish," Steven said, bowing. "But sire, you need to do as Anastasius says."

"We need to build our kingdom," the record keeper replied. "You need to build your army, knight your highest soldiers and increase your noblemen."

"I will," I replied. "I've been busy this week with school back in session. I probably won't be back until this weekend but I'll be back."

"Thank you, my high king," he replied, bowing. He returned to his quarters. Steven bowed as well, returning to the church. I finally got a chance to look around and I was startled that it didn't occur to me before. The castle had lights.

"What," I asked as I looked around. Tucker hadn't finished this when we were last here on Sunday. The door opened from behind me and I turned in that direction, thinking it was Hanover. However, I stared in shock as Tucker walked in the door. He froze in his spot, clearly not expecting me here either. "What the hell are you doing here," I demanded.

"Danny," Tucker shrieked and tried to hide behind a pillar. I walked over, grabbing him by his shirt and forced him back in the hallway. "Hi! Fancy meeting you here!"

I released his shirt, staring him in the eye, "Tucker, what are you doing here?"

"I'm trying to get the internet working in here," Tucker sighed. "It's not as easy as putting electricity or cell service. Hell, you could put satellite television in here easier than internet!"

"Tucker, this is nuts," I declared. "You're unprotected!"

"I don't need to be protected," Tucker retorted. "Besides, I have an entire castle at my beck and call. I always have them escort me back to the portal."

"But what about from the portal to here," I declared, "or what if the castle is seized. You could be killed!"

"Don't be ridiculous. This castle is a million strong," Tucker retorted, rolling his eyes. "No one is going to defeat this castle taking it head on."

"I still don't like you being here alone," I sighed.

"Just don't worry," Tucker said sarcastic. "I'm only risking my life in your eyes. There's no problem!"

"Okay," I retorted. "I get it. You guys feel the same way about me!"

"Every damn minute," Tucker retorted. "But there really is no reason to be worried. I'm perfectly safe here. You go take care of the ghosts and I'll try to find a way to give our subjects internet. Talk about not living!"

Despite myself, I chuckled, "Be careful." I locked eyes with him, "Call if you need me."

"Of course," Tucker said, exasperated. "Just like you call us every time you need us."

I rolled my eyes in aggravation as he walked past me. I settled in, waiting for Hanover to arrive.

Finally, he floated into the castle. Upon seeing me, his glow all but disappeared. "The rumors are true," he said, his voice soft. "You are the new King of All Ghosts."

"I like to call it the new owner of King Pariah's belongings," I sighed. "I have opened up the kitchen to all ghosts. Anyone needing assistance can find it here. Nothing will be required for payment. You are the first I am inviting," I said as I led him to the kitchen.

"Is there anything I can do," Hanover asked. "I don't like taking handouts.".

I smirked, "Ask the pope. He'll let you know if there is any volunteer work needing done."

"This is really surprising, Phantom," Hanover replied. "I don't know whether to thank you or be suspicious of your attitude."

"Just take care of your family," I replied. "Believe me, I know how important family is. To me, there's nothing more important."

"I agree with you," Hanover remarked. We still weren't on good terms but maybe the sinister activity could stop. I didn't know what I was doing when I angered him when he first appeared. Now I know how low he can go.

**AN: I have a million things I need to do today so I decided to post this chapter early this morning. I probably wouldn't have gotten the opportunity to do this later tonight as I'll probably be passed out from exhaustion. I will post regular tomorrow, I just didn't want to miss an update. You guys deserve it.**

**Check out the forums for previous chapter companions and my profile page for the current installment. PM, review or post any questions. Remember, I also have QA threads posted if you have a specific question. If you have a certain topic you'd like me to discuss, such as Magnetism (that one is up, just so you know), then drop me a line. I may have already recognized it but I may not have. You never know until I post.**

**I said this yesterday but I have a new poll on my profile page. This poll is very important. If you are reading this now, you may participate. It's a simple question. Please take the time. I would very much appreciate it. Thank you.**

**To 0-MagicMelody-0:**

**For some reason, I can't view your review on the review page but I know you sent one from my e-mail account. Weird. Anyhow, here is the reply I've been trying to give you since midnight last night.**

**Thank you so much! No problem. You're reviewing now. I appreciate the feedback. Danny is actually nineteen weeks pregnant (or 5 months) but as stated above, he doesn't know exactly how far along he really is. Vlad impregnated Danny when he found his sensitive spot during the first thirty-two hours but Danny has no way of knowing that. ;) The timeline in my story right now is second Wednesday after TUE. Life Lessons just happened but it happened out of order from the way the show put it in there. Dani will show up at the end of June and it is the beginning of April. It happens in Chapter 19, the very end of the story. It may seem a long way away, but it'll be here before you know it! Right now, Danny isn't really showing. In my stories, he is severely small. He doesn't get hungry and the only consequence is a small frame. Right now, he looks normal because his baby weight is making him look normal. This is not good for Lilly, though, because she isn't getting the nutrients or the room she needs. He will begin to gain weight but for the moment, he's severely neglecting his child and himself. Again, thank you and I hope that answered your questions! I look forward to hearing from you again!**


	10. Chapter 10

**Disclaimer: I do not own Danny Phantom or The Lion King.**

**Warning: This story contains reference to rape, sexual content, male sex and pedophilia. If any of this disturbs you, please do not read.**

**IMPORTANT: This chapter contains rape. It is not graphic or in detail but it is present. If this would affect you, please do not read. As I said, it is not graphic. Do not expect the same material that is in Bitter UNIONS. It is still rated T.**

**Chapter Ten: Reconsolidation**

"Oh, come on," I declared, looking up at my window. I was on the ground with the rope again but my rope hit a windowpane. Someone had closed my window! I put the rope back where I found it and walked around to the front door. I bet a dollar against a donut that my parents or at least my mother is waiting in the living room.

I opened the door and sure enough, it was unlocked. I quietly closed the door and tried to sneak past the living room. On the couch, Mom laid on Dad's shoulder as they both slept soundly. It was only two-forty-five but Invincible had showed up again and chased all the ghosts away. I think the reason so many of them had appeared early in the day was because the nighttime ghosts were forced to come out earlier because of Invincible and the daytime ghosts were forced to come out earlier because of the nighttime ghosts.

A beeping sound began to blare in my ears and I gasped, covering them. My parents jumped up as the lights dropped from the ceiling and started to go off. Dad clapped his hands, ceasing the barrage of noise as Mom came to a stand, placing her hands on her hips.

"What," I asked, trying to look innocent. "I'm early!"

Dad gasped, "It's after two! What in the heck, Daniel?"

"This is exactly what I was telling you about," Mom declared. She marched over to me, grabbing my sore arm. I gasped. "You're hurt," she declared. "Come!"

"Ow," I cried. "It's just a bruise!" Yeah, from a goddamn hammer made from Ectoranium. No one can accuse him of not being original!

Mom flipped on the light as she passed the living room. She walked into the kitchen, turning on the light and walking over to the drawers. She pointed to the kitchen table, "Sit!"

"Jeez," I groaned. "What am I, a dog?"

"You act like one," Mom retorted. "Getting hurt but too foolish to stop what you're doing."

"It's just Invincible," I groaned. "The bastard is good!"

"Then maybe it's time we took care of this guy," Dad said, coming up behind me. He grabbed the corners of my shirt and began to lift it over my head. I was glad I stopped dressing for bed before going on patrol the last few nights. The night Mom had stayed up in my room it had been an accident but not anymore. It was too dangerous to possibly be caught in my pajamas. I don't think I could talk my way out of that mess.

"No one can take care of him," I retorted. "I thought I could if I got serious about it but apparently it doesn't matter. We're too evenly matched."

"He's got more than a bruise, Maddie," Dad replied. I winced as I realized that cut wasn't below the waist like I thought. "Looks like this may need stiches."

"Shoot," I hissed under my breath. I kept my back to the chair, hoping Dad wouldn't want to check my back. Invincible had hit me three times with the hammer; cut me four times and one of his stakes had gone in my foot. I walked/floated home in the fashion of the way a normal person drags their foot. I just couldn't put pressure on it.

Mom came over to the table with the first aid kit and sat down on the chair. She removed a cold pack from the kit and broke it open, placing it against my wrist. She started to wrap it loosely with a gauze roll. She gently touched my cheek and I tried not to flinch. She caught the second place he hit me with the hammer.

"Oh, my," Dad declared, his breath catching in his throat. "I didn't even see that, Maddie."

Mom removed a second cold pack and broke it, placing it to my cheek. I winced as the cold pack touched the cheek. I think that hammer shattered my bone but I tried not to show the amount of pain I really felt. I didn't want them to discover the Ectoranium in my bloodstream. That could result in some rather uncomfortable questions that I'm not sure I could answer without exposing my secret.

Mom wrapped some gauze around my cheek and secured that as well. What am I supposed to do with this on my face? Mom next began to examine the cut on my abdomen. "Sweetheart, what caused this?"

I winced, trying to stop a gasp as she touched just below the cut. The pressure was still painful even though she wasn't touching the spot. "I'm not sure," I lied. "He used some kind of glass to cut me. Kind of like a primitive weapon."

"I swear… I swear it looks like… Ectoranium," Mom said, unsure of her words even as she said them. "Ectoranium shouldn't hurt you… unless." She looked up to Dad, "If the Ecto-poisoning is strong enough…"

"It's a possibility," Dad said grimly. "I don't know what it's doing to his system, if anything."

"Ectoranium kills ghosts, Jack," Mom declared. "What would it do to a human infected with Ecto-poisoning?"

"I don't know," Dad remarked.

"It just hurts," I commented. "Ya know, it is a cut. I don't feel weak or anything." That was a lie but that was my intention. I couldn't let them know how much the Ectoranium was affecting me. I could take care of it tomorrow at the clinic.

"Are you sure," Mom asked me. "You don't feel lightheaded. You don't feel nauseas." She put her gloved hand to my forehead, "Are you running a fever?" My eyes widened as she retrieved her hand and pulled out a thermometer.

I touched my head with my hand but I retrieved it too quickly for believability, "I'm not hot!"

"I'll be certain in a minute," Mom replied, sticking the thermometer in my ear. The thing beeped and I prepared to rocket out of here if the need arose. "Ninety-eight. No fever."

I breathed a sigh of relief. For once, my powers chose the right time to go out of whack. At least I know why I feel cooler now. Even my vitals return to normal when I'm cut with Ectoranium.

"I'll go get the ecto-cleaner," Dad replied as he walked to the basement.

"Ecto-cleaner," I asked, horrified. What was that?

"It'll tell us if it's Ectoranium," Mom replied. "If it comes out, we know it's Ectoranium."

"Couldn't it be ectoplasm or just green glass," I asked.

"Not the way it'll appear on the cloth," Mom replied. "If your father brings the cleanser pads, then we'll know for sure. We can check it under a microscope. If he brings just the liquid, then it'll just ooze out of your wound."

"Ooze," I asked, confused. "It always comes out in sheets of glass. I mean, it's a sheet of glass."

"Danny," Mom scolded me when she didn't believe my cover up. I bowed my head but I heard Dad's footsteps reproaching. "Why don't you just tell us the truth? You know it's Ectoranium but for some reason it's solidifying."

"It's already solid," I defended. "He makes a sword or whatever out of it. It's in his bloodstream!"

"He's not affected by it," Mom asked, surprised. The door from the lab opened.

"No," I answered. "He died in an explosion surrounded by it. It transferred with him."

"What are you guys talking about," Dad asked, handing something to Mom.

"Good boy," Mom cajoled him. She twisted off the cap of the object and removed a small circular pad. She gently wiped the wound from the top of the injury to the bottom. Mom's eyes went to the pad to see what came out of me as I felt the wound heal up. I nearly jumped but kept a handle on myself. I discretely grabbed a bandage, slipping it over the healed area. "It's definitely Ectoranium," Mom commented.

"How did our son get Ectoranium in him," Dad asked.

"The ghost makes his weapons from it," Mom answered him. Her eyes fell on my abdomen, "Hey," Mom declared. "When did you bandage it?"

"While you were inspecting the pad," I replied. "I wanted to give you plenty of time to study it."

"Where else were you injured," Mom asked, sighing.

"That's it," I said, keeping my back firmly to the chair.

Dad pushed me forward. "Oh, yeah," he said as I sighed. "That's it."

If she used that cleanse pad on my back, there was no way I could cover that. He had cut me from one side to the other, at least six inches deep. Mom's gasp filled my ears.

"Oh, my God," Mom declared. "Daniel James Fenton, why didn't you tell me about this? This is the worst injury you've ever had!"

"Hardly," I said without thinking. I smacked my hand to my face when I realized she'd heard me. "I mean, I've bumped into things, tripped, you name it! Remember: that boy is going to need the no-gravity of space to live!" I was roughly quoting Mom on the day of the portal accident. Mom had caught me from falling that day, a precursor to what was to come.

"Danny, this is much worse than any little bump, bruise or cut you've got from being clumsy," Mom declared. "You need stiches!"

"I think that cut on his stomach needs some too," Dad replied, crossing his arms.

Oh, crap! I need to get them off my case or my secret is exposed. I went over all the possible solutions in my head but nothing occurred to me.

"Well, sleep tight, honey," Mom replied, kissing my head. "We'll see you in the morning."

"What," I asked, confused.

"Goodnight, Danny," Dad replied. They both walked out of the kitchen, leaving the first aid kit on the table.

"What in the world," I asked, staring as they disappeared out of sight.

"I leave you alone for two days and you get in this kind of trouble," a voice replied. Vlad appeared on the chair Mom had been sitting in. "This took care of the cut on your abdomen, correct?"

"What are you doing here," I groaned. Now I understand.

"What do you think I'm doing here," Vlad replied, picking up the cleanser. "Interesting."

"Put the invention down," I growled at him. Vlad ignored me, pulling a pad out. He started to clean my wound the same way Mom had.

"I'm sorry I wasn't there," Vlad whispered, his head inches from mine as he cleaned the wound. My heart started to flutter.

Stop that, I scolded myself. "What could you have done," I said, much softer than the statement I wanted to make. I wanted to be angry with him but I just couldn't be.

"I could have stopped him," Vlad replied, putting the pad on the table. He removed another one, resuming his work. "I'm sorry for what I done yesterday."

"You think you can just ask me for forgiveness and that's it," I asked in shock. "You tried to take me from my family. You were going to take me against my will. I thought you said that you couldn't hurt me anymore!"

"I can't," Vlad said, his voice soft. "That's why I wanted you to come with me and I still do. However, I now know I can't force you. This has to be your choice."

"We're through, Vlad," I declared. My breathing was rapid and I ached to wrap my arms around him but I fought off the sensation. I am strong! I can deny him! I can leave him be!

"Please, Daniel," Vlad said, stopping his work. "I'm nothing without you." He wrapped his arms around my waist, careful of where he put his hands. "I need you! I can't do this alone."

We sat so close, touching even. All I needed to do was reach up to kiss him. We were a breaths apart. How can I blame him? He was just trying to protect his daughter… and the love of his life. "Vlad," I breathed, losing my last bit of strength. "We can't keep doing this. Our relationship will be like this until we finally give up. There's nothing here for us."

"I'm trying my best, Daniel," Vlad replied, his eyes locking with mine. "I know you won't take me the way I used to be so I'm trying to be more like you. I won't go good but I will go better. I know I can do that but I need you to be by my side to show me what I'm fighting for. Please, don't leave me."

My eyes filled up with tears, "You're trying to go good?"

Vlad broke out in a smile, "No, go better. I won't go good. You won't see me saving people the way you do but…" he paused, his smile turning into a serious attitude, "I will never go back to the way I used to be." He pulled me closer to him where we were completely touching, "But I need you to help me through this."

I wrapped my arms around his waist as well. "I miss you," I said softly. "I don't want this to fail. Our baby needs both parents… but I won't be treated like that again. You promised me that we would be equals in this relationship. One partner doesn't drag the other to another place without first discussing it with their partner."

"I know," Vlad sighed. "I'm sorry. Please forgive me."

I leaned in, giving into the sensation. I kissed him, giving him my heart again. I think I just made the biggest mistake of my life but I can't pretend that we couldn't make this work. If Vlad was really trying to turn over a new leaf, then I owed it to him to stick with him as he tried to change. Am I really trying to make a difference in this world? What kind of a difference could I make if I turned an unstoppable killing machine and a rapist into a good man? What good could Vlad do for our side?

"Thank you," Vlad said after he broke the kiss. "I love you so much."

Vlad placed his hand on my stomach. I placed my hand on top of his, "We love you too."

O_O

I called Sam and Tucker after Vlad left and they never suspected a thing. When morning came, Mom showed no signs of remembering any injuries. I had removed all of the bandages that were on me and I wasn't even planning on going to the clinic this morning. My cheek, wrist and thigh still hurt from where Invincible had smacked me with his Ectoranium-created hammer but those injuries weren't anything that would slow me down. Mom had cleaned the cut on my abdomen and Vlad had cleaned the two cuts on my back and a stab that went through my side. I was still floating over the floor with one of my legs because I didn't know how to remove the 'wooden' stake.

Mom had made breakfast for me again and she refused to let me skip it. I was a nervous wreck to try the meal. If yesterday's breakfast was any indicator to the taste, I didn't want to try it. I took my seat just as the front door opened and closed. Mom brought over my plate and I eyed it wearily. "I didn't add any flavoring to this," Mom replied. "I don't want you getting sick before school so I'll work on some variations while you're at school and we'll try again this afternoon."

"Okay," I said, a little relieved. Sam and Tucker walked in the room.

"Smells good, Mom," Tucker complimented as he took his seat.

"I made your breakfasts as well," Mom smiled at my friends. She turned back to the stove and counter.

"How was your night, Mrs. Fenton," Sam asked, her voice critical. She wondered if she stayed up last night.

"Good," Mom answered. "Danny came in after two last night so that made me less angry."

"Yeah," I said, holding my fork in an angle to my untouched plate. "I would appreciate it if you didn't close my window!"

"And I would appreciate it if my fourteen year old son didn't stay out until fifteen minutes to three but say he's early!"

"Mom," I groaned. "You're the one who wanted to know! You could be blissfully ignorant and believe I was in my room. Now you have to know the truth!"

"I give you a curfew for a reason," Mom said, her voice hard. "And I don't consider coming home to go back out again obeying curfew!"

"Mom, there's nothing you can do," I said, trying to be respectful but letting her know that this is my responsibility. "I want to be obedient but there are certain things that I need to do. If I have to be disobedient then I'm sorry but I will continue to do my responsibility."

"Your responsibility is to graduate high school, go to college and grow up to be a fine young man," Mom declared, bringing Sam and Tucker's plates over. She put their plates down in front of them and placed her hands on her hips. "I don't like what you are doing, young man!"

"I'm sorry," I said, looking to my plate. I started to push my food around but I glanced up at her through my eyelashes. "This is my responsibility and I will always honor my duties."

"Then what about school," Mom asked, changing her position to crossing her arms.

"School became obsolete," I answered, shrugging my shoulders. "The ghosts are more important."

"Why don't you allow us to handle it," Mom asked, dropping her arms. This made her upset and she doesn't know how to deal with that. She's never been this upset over something her child done. I guess you could say that Mom doesn't take a threat against her child lightly but the one threatening her child is her child himself.

"Do you really believe you could handle that," Sam spoke up after I still hadn't responded. "You guys saw how dangerous this situation is! We're professionals."

"And we're not," Mom asked, scoffing.

"No," Tucker replied, his voice soft. "You guys are scientists and inventors. You're not hunters."

"What they mean is you haven't had enough experience," I remarked, finally speaking again. "We've had seven months of experience to become as good as we have. I'm not saying that you couldn't have been as good as we have become but the ghosts aren't going to wait for you to catch up!"

"We're not exactly bad hunters," Mom defended.

"Yeah, you are," Tucker scoffed, chuckling hard afterward.

"No, they're not," I defended my parents. "We're just better. We've seen bad hunters. They're the idiots that Plasmius hired and the Guys in White."

"Thank you," Mom said, her voice high. "I think."

"We are better," I said, shrugging my shoulders at her. "I'm sorry but it is the truth."

"I'd bet we could beat you at the program," Mom said, a smile on her lips.

"Oh, really," I smiled. "You may be able to beat Tucker, you might be able to beat Sam but I doubt it but I know you can't beat me!"

"And what makes you so certain," Mom said, her smile lighting up her eyes.

"You'll just have to find out," Sam said, her eyes revealing her mischievous attitude.

"Oh, yeah," Tucker chuckled. "I'm so in!"

"Wait a minute," I said, a little worried. "You're wanting to challenge her in the program?"

"Worried, Mr. Confident," Mom said, smug.

"A little," I admitted, my voice going high. "I know I could beat you but I am a little concerned, guys."

"Why," Tucker asked.

"You're the one who wants to let people in our bubble," Sam retorted.

"Yeah," I objected, "But not to give my battle strategies!"

"Oh please," Tucker groaned. "Like even you know what you're going to do before you do it!"

I chuckled, "True!"

"So it's a date," Mom smirked.

"Sure," I declared. "It's a date!"

"This is going to be sweet," Tucker declared. We stood up from our tables, my breakfast still uneaten.

"See you this afternoon," I called.

"Bye, sweetheart," Mom called.

"Better train if you want a prayer," Sam called as we exited the house.

"Ready," I asked, opening their minds. They disappeared. "I'll take that as a yes!"

O_O

We arrived on time to Science class and pulled our desks together. When class began, Mr. Fuluka took an instant attraction to us three. Even though Valerie was too in the class, she was exempt from the torture because of Mr. Fuluka's beef with us… well, more so me. It didn't last long, though, because before ten minutes had elapsed, I got a ghost sense. Problem: with my sensitive ears, I picked up a humming. With the way Valerie reacted, I have a feeling that I will have more problems than the ghost I'm going after.

I stood up and darted out of the room as Valerie raised her hand. As I disappeared down the hall, I heard her ask for dismissal. Valerie was still employing the practice of asking for an excuse while I have long given up. I went into the empty classroom and transformed. My stomach was in knots as I anticipated the encounter with Valerie while in disguise. I opened my mind and rooted out where the intruder was. I phased through the wall and went in the direction I sensed the ghost. In the direction of our classroom, I sensed Valerie's signature approaching this way.

I located the ghost and it was a normal bad-guy kind of ghost. I tried to capture him as soon as possible but I knew my chances of capturing him before Val found me were slim. After I sucked him in the thermos, I turned to dart to safety but a white-hot blast caught me off guard. I fell through the floor. Hello, Valerie.

I phased up through the floor, trying to keep her in my senses so that she couldn't hurt me and I wouldn't hurt her. "Hello, Valerie," I said, this time aloud. "How's the world been treating you?"

"Better now," she retorted but her voice showed a small amount of worry and confusion.

"What's the matter," I asked. I could taste her worry in the air now. Suddenly, though, it transformed into aggravation.

"Nothing," she retorted, "Why would anything be wrong? I'm about to destroy you!"

"Something's wrong," I said. I kept her in my sight but I was also trying to determine the source of her worry. Her sledge board started to whine and it disappeared beneath her feet. Valerie yelped fearfully then grunted. "Damn it!"

"Valerie," I yelped as she tumbled to the floor. Valerie started to gripe and I could pick up a hint that this was what was wrong.

"Don't touch me," Valerie yelled at me as she stood up. Her ankle buckled slightly and she hissed in pain.

"You're hurt," I declared. "I can heal you!"

"I don't want your help," she shot at me. She bent down to grab her ankle.

"You're going to let your pride to get in the way of your health," I declared. "How are you going to explain that injury?" Besides, I believe I was the reason she was hurt. This has Sam and Tucker all over it.

"I don't need your help with anything," she declared. "Least of all to heal me!"

"Valerie, will you stop being so damn stubborn," I retorted. "You're injured and you're refusing to allow someone to help you! Everyone needs help!"

"You're not a person," she declared. "You're a no good, evil vile of a creature with no soul!"

"And when did you become an expert on ghosts," I retorted. "I have a soul just the same as you!"

The red swirl that comes from her transformation surrounded Valerie and her suit powered down. She yelled in frustration, not able to explain what was happening with her suit. "I'll be back, Phantom," she declared. "Don't think this is over!"

Valerie stormed off down the hallway, seething. A pair of soft giggles came from around the corner, one a male and one a female. I crossed my arms across my chest, waiting for the pair to come out. "You bet your ass this is over," the male declared, his giggles turning into laughter.

"Great job, Tuck," the female voice said, her giggles dying. "You okay, Danny?"

"That was unfair, guys," I said, my voice soft. "I had everything under control."

"We were worried," Tucker said, stopping his laughter. He didn't appear shameful though but it wasn't like I was expecting him to. Tucker doesn't see what he done as wrong. "The ghost did appear on the radar as a minimal threat but we've been fooled before."

"You could have exposed her secret," I said, uncrossing my arms. I gave up the disappointed look because I didn't really feel that way. I've just about given up on convincing them that Valerie wasn't a threat. It appears the only way I'll be able to do that is to invite her in our circle despite their wishes and prove one of the opinions wrong. I'm convinced I'm right but I'm pretty sure they're convinced the same.

"Nah," Tucker denied. "I was watching out for her. I'm not that heartless."

"If she did get exposed, at least she'd be dealt with," Sam said, crossing her arms.

I stared at Sam in minor shock, "Sam! Take it from someone who has a secret identity! That is the absolute worst thing that can happen! You fear that almost as much as you fear death!"

"Then you must not fear being exposed that much," Tucker retorted.

"Don't be so cocky, mister," I grimaced. "I fear death the same today as I feared it before. I'm just more ready to face my fears than I was before."

"Let's get back to class," Sam sighed. She didn't like the topic of death any more than I did.

"Fine by me," I sighed too. Tucker followed our leads but his was more dreadful. "How did you guys get Mr. Fuluka to excuse you?"

"We didn't," Sam replied. "After we came to the conclusion that we'd rather be safe than sorry, we left the classroom."

"Oh," I remarked, my voice soft. I didn't care that they ran out of the classroom. Fuluka could try to do something to them. I would make sure it wouldn't stick.

O_O

Second through fourth periods went in a normal pattern. Even fifth was average but it's becoming a problem. Now that I'm leading the class in our studies, I have more difficulties in Spanish class. I still honor my responsibilities in ghost hunting but I have to either take a few precious minutes to leave an instruction with the teacher before I leave or write up a syllabus for the entire class. Since I can barely think ahead to the next hour, the syllabus is hardly practical and the time that's stolen from me to write down instructions is giving the ghosts more time to expose themselves and wreak havoc. Even the kids notice that there is usually a ghost attack every day in fifth period.

The rest of the day went by with nothing note-worthy. I took the doll like usual but today's tradeoff went off with concern. I was weary of Valerie's patrol time. Would she seek Phantom out during her patrol. As long as I remained human, I had no problem with it, but the problem was that I rarely had an hour that I didn't go ghost. I kept that in the back of my mind as I went to the lab for our little game of scrimmage. I had to say I have grown more excited about the idea.

"Are you kids ready to eat your words," Mom playfully taunted. She was sitting at the workstation in the lab when we came down.

"I'm afraid it isn't us who will be having an unpleasant meal," Tucker remarked as he started chuckling.

"I hope you took our advice," Sam said, rubbing her hands together in anticipation.

"Alright, guys," I said, smacking my hands together. "You know our rule! No witty banter in the training room."

"The only place free of your witty banter," Sam shot playfully.

"That's true," I chuckled, "but rules are rules."

"So how is this going to work," Dad asked, reclining in his chair.

"We start with level one, the way the program is set and the team whose teammate finishes furthest wins bragging rights as the best of the best. If one of my team finishes the furthest, my team can claim they're the best. If one of you two, then so on."

"So if Maddie is the only one who passes, we can still claim," Dad asked.

"Correct," I replied. "If you want to hear my prediction, I believe I'll win the lot, Mom will come in either second or fourth, Sam will either come in second or third, Tucker will either come in third or fourth and you'll come in fifth."

"Well," Sam retorted, "I think Danny will come in first, I'll come in second, Tucker will come in third, Mrs. Fenton will come in fourth and Mr. Fenton will come in last."

"Well, let's find out," Mom declared. "Because I think Jack and I will beat all three of you."

We three began to laugh but I stopped first. "Sorry," I said, stifling my laughter. "You're right. Let's find out."

Mom started the program and Tucker swung her chair out of the way. He reset the program to remove the random program and to only operate the way Mom and Dad had intended. "What did you do, Tucker," Mom scolded.

"I removed the random program," Tucker explained, walking back over to Sam and I. "I created a random program so that Danny wouldn't fall asleep in training. He was getting so used to where everything was, it wasn't challenging to him anymore. I created the random program so that it would resemble a real-world activity and not a video game."

"You found the program boring," Mom asked in shock.

"Once I got used to the pattern," I asked. "It was horrible. Duck, shoot, reflect, barrel roll. I wanted something to pop out at me. I didn't want everything to be Rafiki-style!"

Tucker let out the traditional karate battle cry, throwing his hand back like Rafiki done on The Lion King. Mom and Dad chuckled as they realized what 'Rafiki-style' was!

"I'll go first," Sam volunteered. She rubbed her hands together, stepping up to the plate. "I just don't know if I want Danny to go last or not."

"I know," I chuckled. "Just remember, Sam, breathe! You can defeat that level if you keep a calm head."

"Like that'll happen," Tucker retorted. We settled in, waiting for the program to begin.

O_O

The first level was always the easiest, all three of us beating it on the first day. It was on the third level that we first encountered our first challenge. Sam walked up to the starting point and once the plate sprung back up, two simulated ghosts popped up. Sam hit the floor, rolling out of the way. She stayed in the roll, taking the simulation just where she wanted it. Once she was two feet from her mark, she started weaving up and down to cause the fire to chase after her. She began her attack when she weaved down and made the fire take out the fifth simulated ghost. Her weave back up took out number four. She started to cartwheel towards the three ghosts, causing two and three to take out one.

Two and three were more difficult to take out in that fashion so she had to be meticulous. She hit the floor rolling from her last cartwheel, forcing number three to shoot number two. As her barrel roll came to a stop, she pointed her weapon at the ghost. Her pause was enough to allow the ghost to shoot at her but she collected the shot, sending it back to number three. "Player advances!"

"Wow," Mom and Dad declared in awe. Sam and Tucker started laughing, knowing that if that blew them away then my performance would light them up.

Sam walked back over to the plate and Tucker smacked her hand. She wasn't even breathing hard. We've experienced more difficult tasks in the real world and they don't work according to a preset rhythm. The second level began.

O_O

Tucker took to the course a lot harder than Sam did. While Sam was soft and graceful, Tucker was loud and demanding. The fourth simulation laid a barrage of attacks against Tucker as he raced past one, two, three and five. Tucker had the time record on this level but I believed his approach to it was too risky. It usually worked, though, and it seemed that it would work here, too. Tucker darted behind four, causing the simulation to shoot behind it's back. The blast ricocheted off the metal, anti-ghost wall and blasted four to pieces. "Player advances."

O_O

Mom had advanced to level three but her path was rocky. She tried to remain Sam's grace but she ended up resembling Tucker's clumsiness. However, at least Tucker chose to be clumsy. Mom was acting more like I used to, tripping over everything because our feet and the object didn't agree. She had taken refuge behind a shield and was firing at the simulation. Sam, Tuck and I were watching in absolute shock that she didn't do it like Sam and Tucker had before her. She shot each one, taking them out by wasting valuable energy. Didn't she see Sam and Tucker allowing the ghosts to take themselves out? It's best to waste someone else's energy then your own. You never know when you may need those reserves.

Dad was even worse when he had taken the plate. Level four claimed Dad and that was just too sad. Even Tucker didn't get stuck until level eight. Mom advanced until level seven when she was knocked out. The contest was over. Tucker had advanced to level fifteen while Sam had been knocked out on level twenty-three. However, I was the last to go and I went the furthest.

Mom didn't suspect I'd be thrown out until at least Sam's level but she didn't expect me to advance much further. Level twenty-four and level twenty-five surprised Mom but level twenty-six and level twenty-seven flabbergasted her. I advanced level twenty-eight and twenty-nine with no problem. Level thirty, though, gave me difficulties.

_He'll be knocked out in this one, I know it_, Mom's voice echoed in my mind. I cracked a smile for two reasons: it was no doubt her voice and she was wrong.

I advanced level thirty, the hardest one for me, and stepped up to the plate at level thirty-one. This was the last level of the program and it has been deemed undefeatable. Mom had designed it to be so because she wanted to teach the importance of surrender and live to fight another day. However, I was never one to give up. I learned how to beat it after the King.

I walked casually into the program and Mom's eyebrow furrowed. She was unsure as to why I was so calm. I had to be to make this work. I stopped between the five ghosts. One and three shot each other out while four and two shot themselves out as well. As I done my backflip, allowing the simulations to do their own damage, I retrieved a reflector, sending number five's blast back at himself. "Player wins program!"

"What," Mom declared. "That can't be! This thing is undefeatable!"

"Nothing's undefeatable, Mom," I replied. "So, do you think you're better than us now?"

"Daniel James Fenton, this brings up a whole other truckload of issues," Mom declared. "How on Earth did you learn that move without getting annihilated a millions times."

"I didn't," I replied. "At first, I was annihilated then I started to pull a tie by oblivion then I learned the secret. You have to be willing to die to defeat them."

"Danny," Dad said softly, "Out there, it's not a game. If you die, you don't come back or get another try. You must always remember that."

"Oh, I do," I replied. "I always weight my options and that's why I was always annihilated for the first month. I made it to the last level in early February and faced annihilation for two weeks. From the week Spectra attacked to the week I got back on my feet, obliteration was the solution. Then the week that ghost sucked the town into the Ghost Zone, I realized what I needed to do. I didn't have to win, I just had to make sure they lost. With that attitude, I noticed the flaw in the design. They could take each other out."

Sam and Tucker looked down while my parents just stared at me in shock. "I don't like this," Mom said softly. "I don't like the idea of you sacrificing yourself to defeat any ghost."

"Welcome to our world," Tucker said, his voice on the verge of breaking.

"Hey," I said, turning to my friends. "I promised you guys and I intend on keeping that promise. I'm not going anywhere without a fight!"

"That's the problem," Sam said, her voice soft as well. "It'll be a fight that takes you out of this world."

"Not until we face the next Pariah Dark or the next Dan," I said, sighing. "I can't make any promises about that."

"What about this Invincible guy," Dad asked. "He's been giving you a lot of problems lately."

"Invincible just has one thing on his side but unfortunately, it's enough to do some real damage if I'm not careful. I just need to keep my eyes open," I replied.

"That's also a problem," Tucker retorted. "You can't sleep at night because of these morons."

"I sleep fine," I said, crossing my arms across my chest. "I don't get more than four hours anyway unless I have a dream."

"True," Sam said, crossing her arms as well. "I've been doing some research on him as well and what I've learned isn't good."

"Are you still reading those books," I asked in disbelief. "I thought you'd given up on that by now."

"Ha," Tucker retorted, sitting down. "Sam, give up on you! Never!"

"He came from over in China in the mid-nineteenth century and he was a part of a group of ghosts born that were immune to the effects of Ectoranium. He feared an uprising from the others so he slayed them before they could rise up against him. He didn't discover his obsession until much later in his afterlife. He's obsessed with…"

"With being invincible," I retorted, rolling my eyes. "I got that when he started yelling at me for being indestructible."

"You're right," Sam sighed. "But he doesn't just want to be the most powerful ghost, he wants to be the only powerful ghost. He wants that title."

"Well, he can't have it," I sighed. "As much as I don't want it, he definitely can't have it." We were silent for a while but I had a question burning in my mind. Finally, I decided to ask Sam. "Have you learned anything about Pariah's background? Surely he'd have something in his library."

"Actually, no," Sam sighed. "I've looked once I was done with my research. I can't find anything about his background or his history. Pariah even erased his family's history; there's not even any literature about Charlemangne and he was the greatest King during the Dark ages."

"Charlemangne," Mom asked, finally snapping back to life. "What about him?"

"The guy who sucked us in the Ghost Zone was the pure-ghost son of King Pippin the Younger and his wife once they had died. For some reason, Pariah destroyed his family and took possession of the Ghost Zone," Sam explained. "But Pariah has erased all evidence of his history or his family's history. There are no records or anything."

"Charlemangne was a ghost," Mom declared. "He's from the Dark Ages! That was eleven hundred years ago."

"That's also what made him so powerful," I replied. "The older they are, the more dangerous they are. Most of the ghosts I deal with are either three hundred years old or younger but I have dealt with older ghosts. Skulker is nine hundred years old."

"What was the most difficult battle you've ever fought," Dad asked me.

"Uh," I sighed. "That's hard to say. Routine's seem to be more difficult than any one battle. But I'd say the most tiring one was Pariah. He nearly killed me."

"I don't understand," Mom declared. "I thought Phantom destroyed that ghost! He even said he lost our suit when he defeated him! Did he lie?"

"No," I declared. I took a gulp of air as I tried to keep myself calm. I was stupid. Why did I mention the King? "I wasn't talking about a ghost I've defeated. I couldn't defeat Pariah! I just nearly got killed by him!" Please let that cover that area. I've had too many dreams where my parents find out I'm Phantom. I have no proof they'd accept me.

"What was your most difficult successful battle, then," Dad rephrased. I refrained from sighing. I don't know if Mom has bought it or not.

"Invincible," I declared, right off the top of my head. "He had a bunch of ghosts to back him up and they attacked me one by one until I was weakened when he attacked me. Thank God he left me there to die instead of killing me off because he might have won. It took me more than an hour to climb out of that hole."

"What are you talking about," Mom declared. "I don't understand!" She was freaking out and I knew I was oversharing.

"Nothing, Mom," I said, placing my hand on her shoulder. "I was just attacked by fourteen or fifteen ghosts and Invincible cut me a few times. You don't need to worry."

"But what was this about climbing out of a hole," Dad asked. "It took you an hour? When did this happen?"

"I know exactly when it happened," Mom declared. "That night he was out until after three!"

"You need to make it a little more specific," I replied, wrinkling my eyebrow. Of course, I knew exactly what time she was talking about. There was only two times that I was caught out that late after curfew before this week and that day was the only one when I was that late.

"Don't play cute," Mom declared. "You know I know what day that was. The night after Easter!"

I sighed, "Yeah. But it wasn't that bad. I just collapsed in a small hole." I couldn't even think of something to cover up the hole part. I couldn't very well explain that I had formed the hole.

"Why didn't you call for help," Dad asked.

"I was…" I paused. "It's difficult to ask for help. You can ask them," I said, thumbing at Sam and Tucker. "I don't admit I'm in trouble easily."

"How many times have you been in trouble," Mom said, crossing her arms. Do I detect a little Momma Bear? I hope not.

I laughed aloud, "Too many to count! But I can only think of three times that I wished I had help."

"Spill," Mom declared. Oh, man, I am detecting a little Momma Bear. This is definitely not good.

"It's nothing important," I replied. "You don't need to get defensive about it."

"And tell me one reason why Momma Bear shouldn't sharpen her claws," Mom said, staring me down.

I shivered, imagining staring her down with white hair and green eyes. Something I hope I never do. "Because all that'll do is cause more problems. The last time I thought I needed some help was March twenty-sixth and the two times before that were last month and in December. I probably won't feel like I need help again until a month or more."

"Then I want you to ask for it," Mom declared. "What happened March twenty-sixth?"

"That was Dan," Sam asked, her eyebrows furrowed up. "When did you need help through that?"

"I just thought I needed some guidance," I replied. "I wondered if what I was doing was right."

"What were you doing," Mom asked.

"Oh," I declared. "That's enough! If it don't include them, exclude them!"

Sam and Tucker groaned, "Here we go!"

"What just happened," Dad asked, confused. I took a seat beside of Tucker.

"Danny locks us out when he feels that the answer would hurt us," Tucker replied. He turned to Sam, "It has nothing to do with the test."

"I agree," Sam replied. "He wouldn't have any problem explaining that but he does have issues with as many lies as he's been telling."

"Guys," I declared. "I'm right here!"

"Yeah, well start answering some questions and we wouldn't have to treat you like you're not here!"

I groaned at Tucker as I sunk back in my chair. I couldn't explain to them that I was scared in the future when all those ghosts surrounded me. I couldn't explain to them how I felt my daughter draining her life energy as she tried to survive the blasts that I was taking and thus she was taking. I couldn't explain to them the fear I felt when the man I loved told me that he had abandoned me and his child to die at the hand of our merged ghost forms. How was I supposed to explain that? To them, I'm an average half-ghost boy who isn't involved with a man and didn't spend more than five minutes in the future. Honestly, I don't know how long I was in the future but it was long enough.

"Well, what do you two know," Mom asked.

"We're Danny's friends," Sam and Tucker groaned together.

"Sorry," Tucker added as he and Sam finished together, "we keep his secrets from you."

"They're loyal," Dad smirked.

"Too loyal," Mom groaned, taking a seat beside me. "You know you can tell us anything."

"I hear that all the time," I groaned. I looked at the clock. "Valerie's expecting me to pick up the doll in fifteen minutes. You guys want to go."

"We're going to walk to the Nasty Burger," Tucker declared in shock as Sam jabbed him in the side.

I smirked, "Yeah. I want some fresh air. I'm feeling a little nauseous."

"Then maybe you shouldn't go into the Nasty Burger," Sam sighed. "You usually throw up if you smell food."

"I know," I replied.

"You need to eat small meals," Mom replied. "It's not good for you, baby."

I swallowed hard. That was too close. "I'll get a milkshake."

_Strawberry or vanilla_, my daughter replied. I gasped out loud as her voice came to me. Tears flooded my eyes as I realized that was really how my daughter sounded.

"Danny," Sam asked. "Are you all right?"

"I'm fine," I replied, my voice choked with tears. Vlad! I sent out my mind to find Vlad. Vlad!

_What_, Vlad replied. _Geez, is everything okay?_

I heard her, I replied. Go ahead, baby. Talk for us.

"Danny," Sam asked.

"Quiet," I retorted. Darling, say something for Mommy and Daddy.

_Like what_, she asked. More tears flooded my eyes.

_It's really a girl_, Vlad replied, his own voice choking up. _I'm having a daughter_.

I told you, I replied, the tears falling. I wiped my eyes. Doesn't she sound just like an angel?

_I never told you_, Vlad replied. _I thought of a name._

What was it, I asked. It wouldn't matter if she was already named in my dream. It also showed Sam raising her and that isn't happening.

_Damn straight it's not happening_, Vlad declared. _I'm not giving you two up for nothing_!

What was the name Vlad, I asked, my voice soft.

_Katherine_, Vlad answered. _I guess we could call her Kate or Kathy for short since you like that but I wanted her full name to be Katherine Demianna Fenton-Masters_.

I chuckled softly. Why would you chose that name? There must be a reason.

"Dude, what is up with you," Tucker asked.

I'm talking with someone, I retorted. I'm a little busy!

_Who could you be possibly talking to_, Tucker asked. _Sam wouldn't be asking if it was her?_

It's no one in the room, I informed him. I closed the link.

_Now can I answer_, Vlad asked.

Smart ass, I retorted.

_Katherine means pure, Demi means half and Anna means in God's favor. Pure half-ghost God_, Vlad replied.

Lilly started giggling, _Daddy! I'm not a pure half-ghost god! I'm just a natural born halfa_!

_Lilly_, Vlad asked. _Is that the name you foresaw?_

_It's the name I saw too_, Lilly replied. _My name is Lillian Madeline Masters-Fenton_!

I hadn't foresaw Lillian, I replied. Interesting. It fits, though, my little lily.

_I love you, too, Mommy,_ she replied. _Goodnight._

_Goodnight, angel_.

Goodnight, peanut.

_I don't want you going out on patrol, Daniel._

Vlad, you know that I have to, I replied.

_Come on, baby. I don't want you getting hurt_!

I won't, I replied. I love you, Vlad.

Vlad sighed. _I love you, too and congratulations on hearing actual voices_.

I turned my focus on my other family. "Sorry. I got a little spacy."

"You always have had your head in the clouds," Dad joked with me.

"You know it," I laughed. "Well, we're going to the Nasty Burger. I'll see you guys tonight, probably just after ten."

"Be careful, Danny," Mom said. "I don't care how late you are, just be careful."

"And don't be afraid to call for help," Dad added. "We'll always be here."

"I know," I nodded. I lead Sam and Tucker out of the basement.

O_O

I traded the doll off to Valerie for the last time. Tomorrow was Friday and we'd be returning the dolls tomorrow. It didn't turn out so bad although I did wonder if we'd have a big 'cookie' scene like in the show. I haven't been paying attention to Mom and Dad Number Two as of late so I have no idea if there really was a bake sale. I know that Tucker has been babysitting because he's been juggling between having the babies and giving them back before the next class. The show made it seem like it was a one-day project but this has been a weeklong project and Mrs. Tetslaff cannot know that Tucker has been the one majority responsible.

Before we left for patrol, Jazz came into the Nasty Burger. I thought that she was meeting either a few girlfriends or maybe a boyfriend here but she waltzed over to our table. "Hey, Danny. You left earlier today!"

"Yeah," I replied. My half-drank vanilla milkshake sat loosely in my hand. "Things were getting stuffy at home."

"Mom and Dad are on high-alert, I know that much," Jazz sighed. "What happened while I was out?"

"We had a contest with the program," I replied. "Mom and Dad realized I beat the program."

"Well, that's nothing, right. It doesn't prove you're half ghost or anything, does it," Jazz asked.

"No, it doesn't prove anything except that I'm willing to die for my cause," I revealed the problem. Her eyes nearly bugged out but a look of understanding came over her face. She'd never admit that her assumption before was wrong so I continued on, "The program was supposed to be undefeatable so that we'll learn to surrender. I learned that if you're willing to sacrifice yourself, you can discover the answer."

"That's not right," Jazz said, her voice hard. "You're just a kid, Danny. You shouldn't have to die for anything!"

I laughed, "Oh, Jazz! I'm not going to kill myself just for any old thing. It would be something huge. It would be something that couldn't be avoided, like the King."

"It's still not right," Jazz sighed, depressed. "Mind if I tag along?"

"You want to go on patrol," I asked, surprised. "Mom and Dad aren't tagging along. You don't have to come tonight."

"I'm not going because of Mom and Dad," Jazz retorted. "I'm going because my little brother is risking his life. The least I can do is be there for him."

O_O

It was bad from the start. Jazz has never been one to take an interest in the ghost hunting but she's always done all right when it came to the weapons but she was trying too hard. She felt that she had to live up to someone or to our expectations and all she was doing was making it worse. We suffered for four hours before early patrol was over and I would be on my own. After what I just went through, I feel like a cut from Invincible would tickle. I'd be wrong of course, but it does seem likely.

However, Invincible didn't show tonight and I called it a night a little early. My feet were starting to hurt so I excused myself. While I was dressing for bed, I was going over my skin for scars or cuts that hadn't quite healed. There were none except for the first three Invincible gave me but I did notice something else. Looking from the front, I couldn't tell but if I turned to the side, I had a slight bulge forming. It was barely noticeable and in fact, it looked one hundred percent natural because of my severe weight loss but there was a protruding line.

I tried to suck it in and I tried to bloat it out but nothing worked. As long as I was shirtless and facing to the side, anyone could tell my abdomen stuck out further in one spot than it did in any other. I phased through the wall and stepped on the bathroom scale. I weighted ninety-one pounds.

I phased back in my room, not completely absorbing the information. Would I become visible? Should I start gaining more weight for Lilly? I'll have to talk to Dr. Reynolds Monday.

O_O

"I'm inevitable," a voice cried out in the dark. I snapped my eyes open, looking around the new surroundings. A dark eerie chuckle filled the area. "You can't win! You will fail and I will succeed."

"Who's there," I asked, my eyes darting around the dark area. I don't know where I am or what's happening. One thing I think I know is who the voice is.

"No one else is here, Danny," the voice said again, a mixture of mockery and honesty in the air. "It's just you, Danny. Who else would be in your mind?"

"I defeated you," I screamed. I couldn't get a grip on directions in this world. I didn't know if I was standing or sitting or even if I was up or down. "Where am I?"

"You're nowhere, Danny." He laughed again. "You're everywhere! You're here! You're there." He started laughing manically. "You're at the crossroads of destiny," he said, inspiration in his voice. He started to laugh again. "And unfortunately for you, it's a one-way road."

The darkness vanished in an instant and I could finally see. I spun around, my heartbeat racing. The broken concrete and the scattered debris littered the ground. A hissing sound filled my ears and I turned in that direction. My family and Mr. Lancer were tied to the Nasty Burger boiler again. "This can't be," I declared. "This isn't real! This isn't real!"

"Oh, it is," the voice replied. His footsteps crunched beneath the broken concrete like it was cookie crumbs. "And soon, you'll see how real this is." He stood in front of me. "I won't just kill the originals. I will kill everyone! I will kill everybody but my daughter and she I will steal from you!"

I felt a pulling sensation and I was suddenly somewhere else. I was staring at a young woman with pitch black hair, a white stripe going down the side. Her eyes were a cool blue and she was dressed in a blue tank top and a pair of black leather pants. She had on black combat boots that went over the leather pants. "You know my answer, Dan," she declared. "I don't care how much you hurt me! I don't care how much you threaten me! As long as I breathe, I will avenge my family!"

"I am your family," I said and the sound of his voice coming from my mouth knocked the wind out of me. I'm having a dream of Dan. "Join me or die!"

"If you could, you already would," she taunted. "Admit it! I'm more powerful than you are!"

"I just don't want to waste such talents," I replied, his voice smug. "You could be a valuable asset."

"I will avenge my fathers," she retorted, "and I will avenge my grandparents, my aunts and my uncle! Their deaths will not go unpunished!"

"Lilly," I scolded, "you think in too narrow of a perceptive. I could have killed you too, but I chose to save my daughter. Shouldn't that count for anything?"

"I'm not your daughter," Lilly spat. "You killed my fathers! And I will kill you!" Lilly disappeared in a purple transport eerily similar to Vlad's.

I shook my head, "I should teach that girl a lesson."

I held out my hand and a green portal appeared. I walked through the portal. "Lillian," I declared, my voice rough and harsh. "This is the last offer you get! If you don't join me, I will force you by showing you how generous your father has been."

"I've told you," Lilly declared, her voice harsh. "You're not my—."

I reached my hand out and caught Lilly by the mouth. I wrapped her in my arms, pushing away her struggles. "I hope you remember how you were conceived," I whispered. "Because you're about to get a front row seat."

No, my mind screamed but I knew it was no use. I never have any control over my dreams. I'm just a spectator and nothing I do or try to do would change the outcome. It's like screaming at the television. The dummy walking in the trap still walks in the trap.

I held my hand out again and another portal appeared. When I dragged Lilly through this one, the sky was no longer blue. It was green now. I forced her inside Pariah's keep.

"How old are you Lillian," I asked her, floating along the hallways. She struggled in my grasp but I acted as if the movement didn't bother me.

"Shut up," she retorted, her voice barely containing the panic.

"That's no way to treat your father," I replied.

"You're not my father," she gasped and screamed. I threw her on the bed.

"I guess for now I'm not," I said, coming down on top of her. "Your pathetic father would have never done this, that's for sure."

Lilly began to cry, the mascara running down her young face. She couldn't have been older than I was right now. I pressed my lips on hers and the real me desperately wished I could close my eyes. Lilly's breathing became ragged as I grabbed her tank top. With a rough pull, her shirt disintegrated. I placed my index finger under her bra strap and with a tug, the buttons snapped. He looked at her breasts and I had no choice but to stare at my unborn daughter's maturing breasts. He placed on glove on top of her nipple and she reacted much like I did when Vlad was raping me.

"You are maturing beautifully, Lilly," he said, his voice soft and a smile on his lips. I think this made me more sick. Just the way Vlad would treat like those early times were willing, Dan was doing it now. "We could not do this, we could do this the easy way or we can do this the hard way. What will it be? Join me, surrender to me or fight me?"

Lilly hacked back a wad of spit and spit it at Dan. Him being ghost, it went straight through him but he got the message. He put both hands on Lilly, electricity shooting through his hands. She powered up, the stripe being replaced with black hair while her black hair was snowy white. Suddenly, she powered back down. I had a sinking feeling.

"It's okay," Lilly said, rasping for breath. "I'm ready! Remember, I was made from rape but that rape still turned into a beautiful love!"

"And this will turn into a beautiful union," Dan said, his voice hard. Lilly screamed out a blood curtling scream and so did I. I could feel my human body crying as Dan raped our daughter. I desperately wished for this dream to end as the events brought back horrible memories of Vlad raping me. Lilly started screaming, the tears spewing from her eyes. She begged but just like me, it was just in the moment. Neither one of us meant what we were offering.

Dan raped her repeatedly for hours and I just sat and watched, taking in what he took in. The feeling of her blood, the blood-curdling screams, the begs, the crying. Everything that he felt or saw, I felt or saw. I also felt the sorrow and the heartbreak he felt. He wanted Lilly to join him and he didn't want to do this. Dan had picked up Vlad's raping instincts but he always saw Lilly as his daughter.

Dan started to think of the past as he raped Lilly and I saw glimpses of his past. He was trapped in what I assumed was the thermos and he was sending a message to someone. It was hard to tell what Dan was doing because I wasn't exactly traveling back to the past. I still saw Lilly but his thoughts had gone to that night in the thermos.

_But he suddenly disappeared,_ a thought memory escaped his mind. _I had him—but he disappeared! Where did he go? Did he have a dream? I did mention my plan to steal Lilly from him before I killed him and everyone he loved. That thought could have forced a dream on him, which is more powerful than any of our powers. There was nothing I could have done to stop a dream the same way there's nothing he can do to stop a dream._

_But that next day… he stopped my escape. I had to work through that all again to defeat him. He's stronger than I remember being. Much like Lilly here. She's so stubborn… just like he was. It wasn't easy to destroy his spiritual form. He was even with me—and I'm a twenty-two! We were evenly matched but once I destroyed Plasmius, it was easily done. And when I ripped Lilly from his stomach, it was basically done for me. He thought that she would die! Ha! She's a halfa the same as they were. She would heal the instant she needed healing._

_But Lilly was stronger than I thought, too. She might have been a newborn but she could care for herself. She refused any interference from me and she's raised herself all this time. She's never needed anyone… so how do I convince her she needs me? I don't think I can now if I couldn't then? She was nearly strong enough to defeat me there. We've both evolved since then but the question is, can I convince her to join me or that she's no match for me before I'm no match for her? I'm fully grown. There's not much more I can improve. She's still a girl. She's got much more to advance._

I shot awake, the feeling on Lilly struggling beneath my hands. I screamed out, grabbing my stomach. He cut her out of me! The bastard stole my daughter right from my hands. The tears had dried and all that remained was the fire and the bile. I wouldn't capture him again, I would destroy him! How dare he lay a hand on my daughter? If Dan is really me and Vlad, who had the urge to rape her? Was Vlad the one with the urge while I had the disgust? Did Dan really think he had no choice and we both didn't want to?

"I'll protect you," I whispered to Lilly. "I'll never let anyone hurt you."

_Mommy_, Lilly cried. _I was sleeping!_

"I'm sorry," I breathed heavily. "Go back to sleep, my pumpkin." I rolled over, looking at the clock. It was just after six. It was almost time to wake up anyway.

O_O

I was picking at my food when Sam came in the room. I looked up, intrigued why Tucker wasn't with her. "Oh, he's being taken to school by Mrs. Foley."

"Why," I asked, puzzled.

"When we went over last night to wait for your call, Tucker discovered that Mrs. Foley had donated all those dolls to the Red Cross to give to underprivileged children," Sam giggled. "Mrs. Foley is making him go to the school to tell Mrs. Tetslaff the truth about the daycare." Sam picked up her doll. "But Lilith is just fine, aren't you Lilith!"

"You named your doll," I asked, in denial, "and you named in Lilith?"

"Yeah," Sam asked. "Is there a problem with that?"

"No," I chuckled, "it just reminds me of something." I started laughing harder. I forgot that Sam named the flour sack Lilith.

"Well," Sam asked, laughing now. I guess my laughter had her cracked up.

"When you get married and you're pregnant with your first child, you and your husband are arguing about your baby's first name," I laughed some more. "Your husband refused to name the baby Lilith because of another Lilith. I thought it was a dog or something but it was a baby doll!"

Sam started laughing now, "Unbelievable! It's just a doll! The real baby should have that name!" She silenced her laughter, "What did we name the baby?"

"Samantha Claire F-," I started then curbed it. "Nice try! Samantha Claire, Sammy for short."

"Great," Sam sighed. "Another child cursed with my first name."

"Don't worry," I smiled, "if that timeline continues, your husband has a junior."

"Good," Sam nodded. "Let's go to class so that Mrs. Foley doesn't destroy Tucker."

"I wouldn't worry about that," I said, pushing my chair back. "I'm worried about Tucker destroying Mrs. Tetslaff."

"I'm kinda counting on that," Sam said, her voice soft. We started laughing. I opened her mind before we were out of the door and we took to the sky.

O_O

"I am very disappointed," Mrs. Tetslaff stated in front of the collected dolls. Mom Number Two hadn't given them away, she was just teaching Tucker a lesson. "This was supposed to be an assignment on responsibility but instead you paid for someone else to do your jobs." Mrs. Tetslaff slammed her fist on her table, causing everyone, including Mom, to jump backwards. "That is plagiarism!" Of course, Sam, Tuck and I sat in our normal desks, unfazed. Valerie currently sat beside us, terrified. "I am making this assignment an extra credit assignment and assigning the real mid-term assignment. Each of you will write a six-page essay on assigned topics in your assigned pairs. As for the dolls I have collected, those pairs will receive no extra credit! Miss Manson, because of her exemplary parenting skills, I will award her a high C. Fenton and Gray, I will award the two of you a high F!"

"An F," Valerie cried but shrunk back down.

I on the other hand didn't, "What's your reason?"

Mrs. Tetslaff waked over to my desk, slamming her hands on my table top, "My reason is enough! You will be quiet!"

"Says who," I said, looking her in the eye. "I thought we settled this, Tetslaff!"

"Shelly," Mom said, her voice soft. "Maybe you shouldn't anger him."

"Quiet, Foley," Mrs. Tetslaff declared angrily. "I won't allow this thug to rule my classroom!"

"He's not a thug," Mom declared, her soft voice absent. "He's a very powerful little boy whom if you piss off is a bad idea!"

"He's just Fentonio," Dash declared. "What could he do?"

"Much more than he normally does," Mom replied.

"Give Valerie a C," I declared.

"No," Mrs. Tetslaff chuckled. "What are you going to do about it?"

"Oh, Lord," Mom declared, "Shelly, you're on your own. Tucker, I will deal with you at home!"

I stood up, keeping my eyes level with her. When she stood at full height, I looked up at her. "If you anticipate on keeping your job, I recommend you to give Valerie a C and to cut some slack for the rest of these kids. They done what normal people do. They paid for someone else to watch their dolls! Cut them some slack, give Val her C and get rid of the essay and I'll not do this. Don't do as I recommend, and you may be out of a job."

Mrs. Tetslaff put her finger in my face, "You look here, punk! I don't take kindly to threats!"

"Neither do I," I said, my voice going low. I pulled out my cell phone and dialed Carrie. "Get me the US Department of Education."

"No cell phones," Mrs. Tetslaff cried, ripping the cell phone out of my hands. My face paled as I realized I was on the phone with my secretary in Washington. That's a lot closer to Samuels than I am comfortable with.

"Mrs. Tetslaff," I declared, my voice high pitch. "Give that back to me so I can clear the air."

"Radar," I heard Carrie's panicked voice. "Radar!"

"Carrie, no," I cried but Tetslaff closed the phone. Sam and Tucker came to a stand as well. "Give me one of your cell phones," I cried, reaching out.

Tucker tossed me his, "Hurry!"

I dialed Carrie's number but nothing happened. I tried it again and it went to an operator. The operators are only placed on a personal office line when the building's on lockdown… and that building goes on lockdown when the country's on lockdown. "Oh, God," I said, closing my phone. "I need to call Mom."

"What's wrong," Valerie asked, confused.

"I called Carrie," I said, my breathing becoming rapid. I dialed Mom's number. "Carrie's in DC which means when she lost contact with me, she contacted Samuels." Mom's voice came across the line. "Mom, we've got issues!"

"You're telling me," Mom declared. "Is there a ghost attack, honey?"

"No," I began.

Mom cut me off, "Then I'm going to have to call you back. The country has been put on red-alert by the Homeland Security. I'm afraid we may be under attack. You kids know what to do."

"Mom, wait," I declared. "I know why were under high alert! I was disconnected from Carrie. DC!"

"Oh, God," Mom declared. "Are you telling me Samuels thinks you're under attack?"

"Precisely," I declared. "Samuels is coming here and he may start shooting." Sirens started flooding my ears but no one else noticed. "Do you guys hear that," I whispered to Sam and Tucker.

"No," Tucker answered.

"Hear what," Sam asked.

"Mom, do you hear sirens," I asked.

"No, honey," Mom answered.

"Wait," Sam called. "I hear them!"

"I gotta go, Mom," I declared. "Samuels called the police for early assistance!"

"Good luck, Danny," Mom sighed. "Bye."

"Bye," I declared. I shut my phone and ran out of the room. Sam and Tucker followed me. I met Sanchez, Paulina's father, as he came in the door.

"Danny," Sanchez declared. "I'm glad you're here. I need your help!"

"Actually," I stated, "You guys got a phone call from the state police?"

"How do you know," Sanchez asked.

"My boss sent you," I replied. "I need you to evacuate the high school to the other two buildings and hurry. Samuels can be here in forty-five minutes."

O_O

Sam and Tucker refused to leave my side and we waited for Samuels to arrive. He broke another record getting here, slamming through that door with two hundred marines in thirty-eight minutes. With us waiting in the front of the school, the marines put the weapons on us. I pulled Sam and Tucker closer, stating, "Stand down!"

"Radar," the sergeant declared. "Director Samuels, Radar is here!"

"Radar," Samuels declared, pushing his way through the marines. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine," I replied. "I just had an issue with a teacher and she took my cell phone. I tried to get a hold of Carrie but she had already reached you."

"I was only worried, Radar," Carrie's voice came from the back of the crowd. The marines parted as she stepped through. She was in her late twenties with neck length blonde hair. She was slender with green eyes. "I'm sorry if I caused any problems."

"You did good," I replied. "Who knows, maybe next time I'll need the Calvary."

"Where is everybody," Samuels asked. Samuels was an elderly man with white hair and a full beard with white whiskers. He was muscular but it wasn't his size that was intimidating. It was the six inch thirty eight on his hip that made you take notice.

"Where do you think," I retorted. "I evacuated them so that you wouldn't kill anyone in your haste. I also had the roadways cleared so you wouldn't encounter any traffic."

"How'd you know which routes I'd take," Samuels asked. I gave him my look. "Oh, yeah. Cause you're radar!" He broke out in a smile. "Come give me a hug!"

I hugged the older man tightly, "It's good to see you, Samuels."

"I haven't heard from you in a while," Samuels replied. "Why is that?"

"I've been busy," I replied. I didn't want to tell Samuels about the ghosts because he'd freak if he learned that Mom and Dad haven't told them about this for this long. He doesn't even know about the portal being open. It'd be just like if I told them about my portal accident now so I understand completely. "Come by for dinner?"

_Is that a good idea_, Sam's voice asked in my head. I couldn't tell if she was just thinking or if she was addressing me.

It'll be fine, I sent in her direction just in case. Sam jumped slightly but leveled her anxiety back to normal levels. "I would love to," Samuels accepted. "Who are these two?"

"This is Sam and Tucker," I addressed. He had never met them in person so now was his chance.

"I'll be damned," Samuels declared. "The Sam Manson and Tucker Foley." He paused for a moment and I groaned.

"Samuels, please," I groaned.

"Which one of you is Sam," he asked as I covered my face.

"I am," Sam declared, laughing with confusion and disbelief.

"Thank goodness," Samuels sighed. "Good choice. She is beautiful, Radar."

Someone kill me now, I thought to myself. However, as soon as the thought went through my mind, my dreams returned in my mind. On second thought, someone save me!

"See," Tucker whispered to Sam. "Even he says that Danny's said something!"

"Shut up," Sam retorted. "You don't know that's what he's talking about!"

I lifted up my head to look in her direction and Sam diverted her gaze from me. What in the world? Talking about what? And why would she care?

"Clueless," Tucker groaned, stuffing his hands in his pockets. "Mr. Samuels, are you canceling school?"

"Tucker," I retorted. "We need to stay in school!"

"Why," Tucker groaned. "I'd rather just fail!"

I took a deep breath, preparing to tell him. I didn't want to tell Samuels this but I couldn't leave it up to my parents. I could survive whatever he tried to do to me and I could protect Sam and Tucker. I couldn't protect my parents.

Oh, I don't want to do this.

"Samuels," I said, breathing through my nose. "Guys, get behind me."

O_O

"Put that thing away," I declared as I chased Samuels down the hallway. I wasn't really chasing him, I was just following him down the hallway. Samuels had his revolver out and he was heading in the direction of the office. "Samuels, it couldn't be avoided!"

"You are coming to camp this year, Radar," Samuels declared, his voice winded from the exertion he put in the walk. "If I have to kill someone to get you there, so be it!"

"You can't just kill someone and my problems will be solved." I turned back to Sam and Tucker, "Stay here! I need to talk him down and I don't want to miss something."

"Like that could happen," Tucker retorted, keeping his pace. Sam slowed down but shook her head, resuming her position. The Marines were still huddled in the entrance as far as I could tell, shaken from Samuels's outburst—and Marines do not scare easily. Even we took a step back from that reaction. Now that's impressive.

I rolled my eyes and added more speed to my step. I cut Samuels off, placing my hand in front of his chest, "Samuels, stop! Do I have to take that gun from you?"

"Radar, I normally wouldn't object to anything you do, but I am not in the mood," Samuels said, his voice going hard. Sam and Tucker stood just a few feet from Samuels now and I wasn't there to stand between them. I had a lot to risk here.

"Do you think I'm in the mood," I demanded. "Samuels, I don't feel like being in summer school and missing camp any more than you feel like me missing camp! Give me that Goddamn gun!"

Samuels's eyes snapped up to mine, surprised by my word choice. He hasn't dealt with me since December—not really, just a few times over the phone—and he certainly hasn't seen me pissed. "Radar, what is wrong with you?"

"Look, I've been under a lot of stress and for once, I was looking forward to camp. Normally, I freak out before camp then calm down but not this time. I wasn't dreading all the work at all; I was looking forward to all I would have to do. But now I have to deal with this and it's my fault. I won't run from it although it sounds tempting."

"It's not your fault," Sam declared as she and Tucker stormed around Samuels and stood beside of me.

"We're all to blame," Tucker backed Sam up.

"Guys, get back," I declared.

"I won't shoot your friends," Samuels retorted in a bored voice. "Honestly, Radar."

"I don't know what you'll do," I retorted. "But this is something that can't be avoided. We only found out about this at the beginning of the week. We haven't known for long."

"Why haven't Maddie and Jack called me," Samuels asked.

"Are you kidding me," I retorted, a smile on my face. "They wanted to tell you in person so that they could be the only objects of your rage. Why subject Carrie or Elise to that?"

"True," Samuels chuckled. "Maybe I should go back and put the Marine's minds at ease."

"I think you should," I chuckled. "I've seen them take bullets for someone else and I've seen them stand between you and an object of your rage before but that was the first time I've seen them show any fear."

Samuels laughed, "I think you're right!"

"Hell, even we jumped back," Tucker chuckled. "That's not an easy task."

"I still can't get over Sam being the girl and Tucker being the boy," Samuels laughed. "Are you sure you two aren't pulling my leg?"

"What," Sam declared. I covered my face.

"Well, with what Radar has told me, I thought for sure that Tucker was just an odd name for a girl and Sam was the boy," Samuels explained, "I mean… Sam is the tough one. Tucker will run away screaming—like a girl he said."

"Oh, really," Tucker's voice came in my direction, his voice smug.

"Oh, boy," I groaned.

"But I'm glad that Sam is the girl. How he's gone on and on about her, how beautiful she is… I was worried there for a minute," Samuels laughed.

"Samuels," I declared.

"Wait," Sam interrupted. "How beautiful I am," Sam asked in disbelief. "You're getting someone else mixed up with me. Maybe you're thinking about Paulina?"

"Oh, her," Samuels stated, a smirk in his voice. "Yeah, I've heard of her too. At first, she was just a beautiful girl but then she became the beautiful queen, whatever that means. But he's always told me that his Sam was more beautiful than ten Paulina's."

"Samuels," I groaned. "Why are you torturing me?"

"Did you have him doped up," Sam laughed. "I'm not pretty. I'm certainly not Paulina worthy!"

"You got that right," I said, removing my hand. "You're more beautiful than Paulina and don't you ever forget that."

"What," Sam snorted. "Danny, I think you hit your head. It's me, Sam."

"I can't believe it," I declared. "You really don't know how beautiful you are?"

"Told ya," Tucker retorted. He punched me in the arm but retrieved his hand back, shaking it slightly. "Like a girl, huh?"

"Don't hit me," I chuckled. "That's reckless!"

"Forgot," Tucker said, snapping his knuckles. "It didn't hurt that bad, though."

"Yeah, well, you've assimilated your knuckles," I reasoned. "They're harder now."

"Have you been training them," Samuels asked me.

"Yeah," I replied. "I was hoping to convince Mom Number Two to allow Tuck to go to camp this year. They would storm that place."

"They wouldn't beat you," Samuels chuckled.

"I don't know," I smirked. "With enough practice, they might."

"Yeah right," Samuels snorted. "That's when I'd be pulling them apart to see if they're not human!"

Sam, Tuck and I chuckled, knowing that they could beat me and I'm the one who's not human. Samuels looked at us strange but shook it off. "Mom knows you're on your way. I'll see you this afternoon, around three-thirty. Don't hurt them or you'll deal with me."

Samuels put his hands up in a no-contest fashion, "I won't!" He broke out in a smile, smacking my shoulder. He retrieved his hand, "Ouch!"

"He's made of steel," Tucker smirked as Sam jabbed him in the side. "Ouch!"

I smirked at them and focused on Samuels, "You okay?"

"I'm fine," Samuels remarked. He was rubbing his hands. "You know, I think Sam's… Tucker's right."

"Nah," I denied. "I'm just pretty strong." I turned around, leading us down the hallway. Tucker was still rubbing his rib where Sam jabbed him. "You okay?"

"I'm fine," Tucker grumbled. "Jeez, Sam, I wouldn't bust Danny's secret with that." Sam reared her elbow back, "Okay! Okay! I'll shut up now." Sam relaxed her elbow.

O_O

The rest of the day went by, for my norm, uneventful. When we made it to Home Ec.'s class, Mrs. Tetslaff had changed her mind about the essay, gave Valerie and I a C, Sam an A and the rest of the class an opportunity to raise their F's to C's. I wouldn't push that. She made the correct change. I guess she changed her mind when she saw what hanging up that phone did.

When I made it home, Mom and Dad had managed to keep the ghost exposure from Samuels and I knew they would do everything in their power to keep it that way. He needed to go back to DC so he wouldn't be staying long. I thought I could keep the ghosts secret from him that long and I was right. Samuels left town with an unseen escort from Phantom and I managed to make a bad situation into an okay experience. I know I can't keep this from him forever but fifty years and we're home free. The man will find out ghosts exist the same way I did: he'll be one himself.

O_O

We were on patrol, fighting a ghost, when my team phone rang. I had it in my pocket, as always, so Sam and Tucker told me they'd handle the ghost and I could answer the call. Since it wasn't that powerful, I allowed it. I stepped out of the way, answering, "Team Phantom, how may I help you?"

"You can get your butt to French class," Vlad retorted.

I groaned, "Vlad!"

"Don't Vlad me," Vlad retorted. "You're late!"

"I'm through," I retorted. "I'm not doing any more classes. I'm not seeing you anymore!"

"What," Vlad asked, confused.

"Making up with you was a mistake," I said, my voice soft. "I didn't want to tell you this way… but… I'm sorry. We're through."

"What did I do now," Vlad declared.

"Nothing," I said softly. "It's not you. It's me. I'm sorry." I hung up the phone, keeping my mind on my patrols. I haven't thought of him all day so I know I can do this. I don't need Vlad to be in my mind every waking moment. I don't need him here. I took a deep breath, walking back over to Sam and Tucker. Just don't think!

O_O

I managed to keep my head on straight for the rest of early patrol and the first part of late patrol. Around one-thirty, after I captured a ghost, Vlad finally revealed himself. It took me longer than usual to capture that ghost because I knew he was around but once I had him secure, Vlad stepped out into the shadows. "Got a minute," he asked me, his voice soft. The shadows ran from the glow of our bodies.

"I guess," I said, turning in his direction. He forced me to take a deep breath just by looking at him. Of course it didn't help. I kept my eyes on him but I had to keep reminding myself I could do this. I had a responsibility to my daughter to keep us safe. I can live without Vlad.

"Is that what you think," Vlad spoke softly. "You believe I could hurt our daughter?" Vlad's eyes, though they were a presumably soulless pair, held the deepest emotions.

"I don't know what to think," I sighed, fighting back the urge to attack him in both passion and rage. It was the weirdest feeling I've ever felt. I felt both an undeniable respect for him and an unforgettable hatred. "I had a dream last night."

"And it had something to do with me," Vlad asked, understanding coming to his eyes.

"Not really," I sighed. "Dan is both neither you or I and both of us. That's who I dreamed of. It was in the future, when our daughter was my age. Dan had killed everyone but he stole Lilly before he killed me. Because of Lilly was half ghost, her undeveloped body completed its development before it could kill her."

Vlad looked slightly shocked but I could tell he knew of the science or at least theorized about it. After a moment, Vlad said softly, "Did he do something to Lilly?"

"Yeah," I said, lowering my head. My voice broke unexpectedly. "I don't know if you could ever do that and that scares me, Vlad. Don't get me wrong, I've forgiven you… but I can't forget it, you know. I wish I could say that I trust you one hundred percent with our child but seeing him hurting her that way—the same way you hurt me—I don't know if I can overlook that."

"How can I convince you that I've changed," Vlad spoke. He sounded desperate but at the same time, he tried to contain that desperation as to not push me further away. "I'll do anything to help put your fears at ease. I don't want to lose you but I especially don't want to lose my daughter. If I can't have you, please don't take our daughter without allowing me the chance to prove myself!"

"Let me talk to the therapist Monday," I said after a moment. "Can you give me that long?"

"I think I can give you that," Vlad said, a sad smile on his lips. He walked towards me, pulling me into a tight embrace. "I love you. Know that."

"I have always known that," I said, softly. "And please know that I love you too. This has nothing to do with you."

"It has everything to do with me," Vlad said sadly. "If I hadn't hurt you, none of this would be happening."

"You're right," I said, looking up to him. "We wouldn't be having Lilly, the past two months wouldn't have happened, and we wouldn't be the men we are." I pulled out of the embrace, but only partially, holding him at arm's length, "Not all things that came from that are bad. Lilly is a perfect example of that."

"I guess," Vlad said, smiling at me again. "I don't regret her, that's for sure."

"Neither do I," I said softly. "And I don't regret the time we've spent together. I just wish I could get over these insecurities."

O_O

When morning came, Mom had made breakfast early. She caught me trying to sneak out the door to meet up with Sam and Tucker. I turned back from the door, walking to the kitchen with my head hung low. I couldn't believe I hadn't noticed the presence of a waking soul in my own house. Mom pointed to my placemat, "Eat!"

"But," I objected. Just the smell was killing me.

"Now," Mom declared.

"Okay," I sighed, walking over to my chair. I pulled it out and took my seat. Orange juice sat beside my plate. "Um, Mom? Can I have some apple juice instead?"

"Apple juice," Mom asked, picking up the cup. "Since when did you drink apple juice?"

"A few months ago," seemed better than 'when I became pregnant.' I picked up my fork as Mom poured a glass of apple juice. I took a bite of egg but it tasted so rubbery. It didn't have the taste of her other experiments but it tasted like eating something you don't want to eat. That child of mine craves nothing but apples and everything I eat, she expects it to be that.

"Here you go," Mom said, handing me the cup. I nodded, gulping it down in two drinks. Mom chuckled, "More?"

"Bring the jug," I groaned. I drink so much apple juice that the urine is actually a tan color instead of yellow.

Mom poured a glass and set the jug on the table. I drank a big swig but left majority of the glass in the cup. "Did you sleep well," I asked her. I didn't see her last night when I came in.

Mom sat down, but she started looking to the left. "Not really," she replied. She was remembering. "I went out last night and collected some samples. I got some interesting notes on the ghost boy."

I swallowed the food in my mouth hard. "What?"

"Yeah," Mom said, not noticing the nervousness I displayed. "I first recorded him in the park around eleven and I kept spotting him all over town all night long. I finally turned back at four but I don't know where he was. He might have left by then."

Actually, I came in later. I was on patrol until four-fifteen as I had to fight Skulker after four. I had planned on going home at four but Skulker had other plans. I thought I had made it clear that I wasn't going sitting down but apparently, neither is he. "Why did you stay out until four? Even I rarely stay out that late?"

"I was observing another ghost for the hour of three," Mom said, chuckling. "That one was hilarious!"

"A short black man in coveralls," I groaned.

"How'd you know," Mom said, cocking her head to the side. She sighed, "Right. You've probably came across him frequently."

"All the time," I chuckled. "He's my frequently caught ghost."

"I watched him for an hour stacking boxes, claiming he would conquer the world with his army of boxes," Mom chuckled.

I scrapped up the last of my food, picking up my cup. The fork dropped harmlessly on the plate. "He'll probably attack me this morning," I chuckled, taking a drink. "Even the kids at school aren't afraid of him. I don't usually capture him anymore. He wastes too much energy. I'll only capture him if he's causing a distraction."

"I can see why," Mom chuckled. "What time did you get in last night? I wanted to be there but like I said, I got caught up."

"Like normal," I replied. I drank my glass down. "Thanks for breakfast," I replied, sliding my chair back. I gave her a quick kiss, "I probably won't be home for dinner. We are planning on watching movies until patrol tonight."

"Okay," Mom grimaced. I cocked a smile. I couldn't expect her to be okay with the idea of me ghost hunting. Dad would be thrilled and he was but I've always known Mom would freak.

**AN: Drop me a line. Tell me what you think. The previous chapter companions are in the forums and the current one is on my profile page. Check out my poll. I'd really like some more feedback there, please. It is very important for the next story. Nine more chapters to go.**


	11. Chapter 11

**Disclaimer: I do not own Danny Phantom.**

**Warning: This story contains reference to rape, sexual content, male sex and pedophilia. If any of this disturbs you, please do not read.**

**Chapter 11: Changes**

Today was the day of my make-up test for the CAT. Sam and Tucker weren't allowed to be where I was but that didn't stop them from sitting right in front of the door. When I finished my test around three hours later, we went to the castle. I despised going there but I did promise Steven and Record Keeper I would return. However, with Sam reading her material at home when I'm on my late shift and Tucker stumped with how to put internet in the castle, they agreed to help me. I was finally able to reduce the side of that overbearingly huge office with the addition of two desks. Surprisingly, the freed slaves had an assortment built.

Sam and Tucker had a list of appointments nearly as long as mine but I hoped to change that. The record keeper was only fearful of giving Sam and Tucker equal parts because they supposedly weren't as high up as me. I didn't want to do this alone and I certainly didn't want to do this with Vlad. What's not to say that the reason Dan got so out of control was because he had both the High King and the Tantamount King? More importantly, what's not to say that Vlad couldn't be corrupted by that? I don't know if I'll try to save this relationship but I know I need to keep Vlad honest.

We worked there until patrol. We made a lot of progress because of our collaboration. Things remained quiet and I was starting to wonder when this major attack from Dan would take place. Apparently, I would deter it and put his revenge off for at least one more attack but I wanted to be ready. The whole reason I had stayed out of Mom and Dad's sight was so I could deal with his attack but the night was quickly drawing to a close. I want to keep an open mind but I refuse to become complacent. All it takes is one slip up and all hell could break loose.

I dropped Sam and Tucker off, went home right at curfew and snuck back out. I don't know why I sneak out of my window; my parents know all about my nighttime activities. I guess I just don't want them to know which way I travel. After all, I spend ninety percent of my late shift in Phantom form.

It was just after eleven when it happened. Clockwork appeared out of nowhere but I already know what happened. I've had the extra thermos on me all day.

"Danny," Clockwork said softly. He was as the strong man right now.

"I know," I sighed. "Let's go!"

"We're in no big hurry," Clockwork smirked. "I can freeze him at this point in time. I need to show you how to get to my tower anyhow."

"Lead the way," I said, waving my hand. Clockwork flew in the direction of Fentonworks.

He led me through the thickest parts of the Ghost Zone, venturing into places I had never been to before. We flew further than where Valerie and I had traveled and Clockwork still wasn't finished with the journey. "How much further," I asked in shock.

"Five minutes," Clockwork answered at the same time I asked my question.

"How did you-," I started to ask.

"I'm the master of time, Danny," Clockwork began at the same time. "I know everything," he continued once I ceased my question.

"Then why didn't you-," I began.

"You were fighting a ghost," Clockwork began. "I could have gone before but this is the best time to steal you away. You won't fight another ghost for ten minutes."

"That's annoying," I stated, crossing my arms. "How long have-," I began again.

"Three minutes," Clockwork answered.

"…we been gone," I finished, deflated. "How am I-," I began, cutting off abruptly before he could.

"I'll transport you back," Clockwork answered, smirking at me. "You don't need me to show you the way back."

"So you believe I can capture Dan in two minutes," I asked, confused. If we were three minutes in, five minutes away and ten minutes would elapse between attacks; that only left a two-minute window.

"You'll do it in five seconds," Clockwork answered. "Are you happy?"

"No, Dan's—," I began.

"I meant about not interrupting you," Clockwork said, annoyed. "I know you're upset that Dan isn't still captured!"

"Oh," I said, softly. "Sorry."

O_O

About three minutes later, the gears and other watch-related objects began to appear. Before a minute had passed, Clockwork's tower appeared on the horizon. "Where are we," I asked in awe.

"The center of the Ghost Zone," Clockwork remarked. "Actually, the center is just a mile further. My tower is the furthest in the Ghost Zone you can go before it starts over again."

"The Ghost Zone starts over again," I declared. "The swirl just goes on forever from what I've seen!"

"You've only seen the end of the Ghost Zone," Clockwork explained. "You live in Illinois and the center of the Ghost Zone is located where the International Date Line is in your world."

"I've only seen a third of the Ghost Zone," I declared.

"Less," Clockwork answered. "The portion of the Ghost Zone that you affiliate with is only a small area… probably the size of the region you are from."

"The American Mid-West," I declared in shock. "That's unbelievable!"

Clockwork led me into the castle and into a small room. Fragments of the thermos lay littered all over the floor and Dan sat frozen in the middle of the room, posed to attack. "He thought that he could defeat me in my own domain," Clockwork chuckled. "Do your thing!"

I chuckled at the ghost's joke, pulling out my thermos. I looked to Clockwork for his approval and he nodded. I sucked Dan inside the thermos. "Thanks," I said, looking at him as I handed him the thermos.

Clockwork accepted the thermos, "We've got to get you back. Emuishere will be attacking soon."

"Who's he," I asked.

"Emuishere is an Egyptian peasant who has developed her power of fire extremely well," Clockwork explained. "She's the Fire Queen of her section of the Ghost Zone. She's not as well advanced as your grandmother but no one is."

"It's a woman," I declared, surprised. Usually, most of the ghosts that attacked me during the nighttime were men. Sure, a few females attacked but I was just as surprised when they attack as I am now.

"Yes," Clockwork nodded, smacking his time staff. We appeared on the streets near the upper classes in Amity Park. It's an area called Posh Poltroon Heights and it's where the richest of our citizens live. It was a name they chose for themselves. The neighborhood is actually on Crest Hill, which was the typical name. Mom said they called it that out of ego.

"Thanks," I said, looking around the neighborhood. There were houses in this neighborhood that cost more than an airliner.

"See you again," Clockwork nodded, slapping his time staff. He disappeared at the same time my ghost sense erupted.

"Here we go," I sighed, sensing for this female Egyptian. I wouldn't try to say the woman's name because I'm not that good at pronunciation.

"Who are you," a female voice declared. I turned in her direction. Clockwork brought me straight to her!

"I'm Danny Phantom," I declared. "Who are you?"

"I am Emuishere," she announced. "I am seeking fortunes for my village." She stared at me, her glow growing. "Will you assist me?"

"Listen," I said, holding my hand up. "You're actually not doing anything wrong yet so I'm not going to shoot my mouth off. I protect this town and I don't allow anyone to terrorize my citizens. I would appreciate it if you didn't harass my people."

"Is this your haunt," she asked me.

"Yes, it is," I explained calmly.

"Then I shall conquer you," she stated in a calm voice. I was taken aback by the calmness in her voice. "This is nothing personal," she stated. "It's business."

"Same here," I explained, powering up a blast. A flash of fire encircled me, smothering my power. "Whoa," I declared, spinning in the flames.

The ghost killed the flames but they reappeared in a circular motion. The motion of the flames trapped me where I floated, the flames becoming increasingly hotter. I screamed out, taking completely by surprise by her attack. She didn't even appear angry. This really was business!

"Okay," I declared. "Now it's on!" I sent out a blast of energy, throwing the flames outward until they dissipated. I rocketed some blasts in her direction but she pulled up a ribbon of flames, blocking them. Why can't things ever be easy?

She shot some flames at me, forcing me to dodge them. I came at her, cutting her next shot off. I threw out a punch, forcing her into the defensive. As long as I could prevent her from using those flames, I think I can weaken her down enough to capture her.

Something yanked me backward and tossed me in the opposite direction. I caught sight of a shot of flame in the shape of a hand dissipating. "Impressive, child," she said, smirking at me. "But I haven't been a ghost for five thousand years and not learn a thing or two."

"Oh, mother," I declared. Five thousand years! I'm in trouble.

"Now you see the issue," she smirked. "You can leave now, child, and I won't pursue. The choice is yours."

"Lady, I defeated Pariah Dark himself," I declared. "I won't give up for some hot headed Egyptian woman!"

"You're the conqueror of King Pariah," she said, cocking an eyebrow. She didn't appear to be one to throw herself at my feet. Actually, every ghost I've met who brings that up wants that title for themselves. I really need to keep that fact to myself.

She shot a blast of fire and I used my ectoplasm to redirect it. She smirked, ceasing the fire. Note to self: remember that move. The night sky lit up with the flames and the ecto-energy we released. Explosions rocked the windows and I knew our fight had to be waking people up. I dodged another flame throw while she diverted another one of my blasts. I flashed a smile at her: "You're pretty and you're a good fighter! I like it!"

"I'm more than a pretty face," she smirked at me. I didn't know if I was scared or thrilled. She was good enough to kill me but at the same time, she wasn't hell bent on conquering me. She was just taking her time.

"Indeed," I agreed. I formed a stick from ectoplasm: "Go Ghost Stinger." Hopefully the change in my game plan can help me get an edge.

"The Ghost Stinger," she smirked at me. "I too have the Ghost Stinger."

"Really," I declared, surprise. She started twirling her fingers and I cocked my head at her.

"Go Ghost Stinger," she whispered whereas I declare my activation phrase. An immense pain filled my senses and I screamed out in true pain. I hit my knees as I felt my powers draining from my body. She smirked at me as I writhed on the ground. She spread her fingers and the Stinger ceased it's torment. "I don't usually use that power. After all, it can kill."

I fell the rest of the way to the ground, my human lungs returning and air exploding in them. I felt the rings form over my waste just as I felt the blood rush to my ears. My power faded away. "How did you do that," I asked, sucking in the air.

"What the hell," she declared. "What did you do?"

I pulled myself up on my hands, my body shaking from the exertion. "I'm half human," I gasped.

"You're the one who walks the line," she declared. "What do they call you?"

"Whelp, ghost child, ghost kid, punk, halfa," I started listing my multiple names.

"Halfa," she declared. "Are you going to be all right?"

"Yeah," I breathed. I wondered if she would have the same reaction that Lunch Lady had.

"I'm sorry," she said. "I didn't know you were still human. I wouldn't have killed you. I could have with that power."

"I'm stronger than you think," I said. I didn't really look it and I know that. I took a shaky breath, transforming.

"You need to go to bed," she declared. "It's not good for the baby."

"How did you know about her," I declared.

"I have another power other than the Ghost Stinger and Fire," she replied. "I have a keen sense with ghost infants."

"Oh," I said simply. What exactly is that? "I'm fine. I still have a long night ahead of me."

"You need to go home," she replied. "I'll leave this place and return later. I want you to go home and rest for your daughter. The attack drained her too, you know."

"I know," I sighed. I snapped my head up suddenly, "You can't tell me what to do!"

She laughed, "Don't make me seek your mother out?"

"What do you know about my mother," I declared, narrowing my eyes.

"Like I said, I have a keen sense with ghost children. You may not be a child and you may not be a full ghost but it's close enough that I could sense who your mother is." She crossed her arms, "Or I could seek out your advisor at Pariah's Keep."

"You're really going to leave," I said, raising my eyebrow.

"Yes," she replied. "I'll return tomorrow early in the evening. You shouldn't be out this late. You're in your second trimester. You should be getting plenty of rest. You'll need it when you start your third trimester. But don't worry, you've got a while before then. You just started your second trimester last month. One month and one week, no?"

"I have no idea," I declared. "I'm not even sure how far along I am!"

"Nineteen weeks," she declared. "Most certainly. You'll celebrate twenty weeks… Tuesday."

"You're good," I declared. Of course, I have no idea if she's right but I assume she is.

"Go speak to the doctors at the Ghost Hospital," she replied. "If you don't know where that is, speak to your advisor at Pariah's Keep." She lifted high in the air, "Goodbye, Phantom and best of luck!"

"Thanks," I grimaced at her. I wonder if Clockwork saw that coming!

O_O

The next morning we spared no nonsense. We went straight to the King's castle but I didn't stick around right away. I flew in the direction of my grandparent's haunt.

I floated inside, "Grandma," I called. "Grandpa?"

"We're in here, son," Grandpa answered. I floated into the kitchen. "Long time, no see!"

"Sorry," I smirked. "I've been busy."

"I wanted to talk to you," Grandpa spoke softly. "Have you had the dream about another daughter?"

"Another," I asked. "I only know of the one."

"What are you talking about," Grandpa declared. "You knew about Sammy and Pammy!"

"That's an old timeline," I said, lowering my head. "I've only got Lilly now."

"So you have dreamed about her," Grandpa declared.

"Where's Grandma," I asked, not wanting to explain this without both of them there.

"She ran out to the grocery store. I started pulling out some food and she wasn't satisfied with the food available," Grandpa smirked.

"Oh," I said, sitting down. I picked up a handful of almonds they had sitting there. I nearly put it to my mouth but I remembered the study they've done on pregnant women eating nuts. I put them back in the pan and instead picked up some crackers, ignoring the assortment of meats, cheeses and spreads.

"Are you okay," asked Grandpa, cocking his head to the side. I nibbled on the cracker, fighting down a different type of nausea. I didn't know how they would react to the news.

"I'm fine," I sighed. "Just nervous."

"Why," Grandpa chuckled. "You've never been nervous around us before. Are you doing something this afternoon?"

"Yeah," I replied, nodding my head in agreement. I sure was doing something this afternoon.

"What," Grandpa asked me.

"David," Grandma's voice declared.

"He's here," Grandpa declared, floating to help Grandma. I followed him, helping her carry in her bags. She had three.

"Danny," Grandma declared, a mixture of happiness and scolding in her voice. She was happy to see me but she didn't want me carrying anything.

"Hi, Grandma," I smiled at her. I took a deep breath but grunted. "I wish I could breathe in Ghost form!" I love those fan fictions that say I'm a mixture in both of my forms. It'd be easier that way but I'm afraid I wouldn't have a real reason to have two forms if my biology was like that.

"What's wrong," Grandma asked me, placing her bag on the counter.

"I need to tell you two something and I'm nervous as a ghost in a ghost hunter's house," I declared with a weak laugh.

"You don't need to be nervous around us," Grandma declared. She placed a hand on my shoulder, "What is it, honey?"

I took a deep breath and resisted the urge to cuss, "Grandpa, you remember asking me about Lilly?"

"Yeah," Grandpa answered, confused.

"Lilly is my daughter," I explained to Grandma. "And she's already on the way," I said, putting my hands on my stomach. The bag Grandpa still held dropped from his hands as Grandma took a wobbly step back, trying to stabilize herself.

"Vlad," Grandpa declared in shock. "That bastard!"

"It's not all his fault," I sighed. "He may have raped me but I've forgiven him for that. I wouldn't trade Lilly for the world," I declared, caressing my stomach.

"I'm going to kill him," Grandma declared, her glow spiking.

"Wait," I declared. "Please, I didn't tell you because I wanted a fight. I've broken up with him!"

"Then why do you say you don't break up with him until Danielle," Grandpa declared.

"Who's Danielle," I asked. "Oh, right, Dani. My sister I get somehow."

"I didn't know she was your sister," Grandpa spoke. "I just know that whatever happens with her, she's the breaking point."

"I broke up with him this week," I explained. "I just can't trust him and I don't want to feel like that. I don't know what I'm going to do but I don't think Sam would ever take me after I've been with a man."

"Sam loves you," Grandpa declared, pointing out that's it's me she loves. "She'll accept you no matter what you do or who you do."

"David," Grandma declared. "Not in front of the Grandson!"

"Don't worry Grandma," I sighed. "I've done everything imaginable to man—and woman!"

"Still," Grandma declared. "It's inappropriate!"

"How far along are you," Grandpa asked me.

"I don't know for sure," I replied. "Although a ghost last night told me I was nearly twenty weeks."

"She's probably right," Grandma replied. I didn't tell her it was a girl but oh well. "You haven't gained any weight."

"I have too," I declared. "I gained three pounds."

"You should have gained at least twelve pounds by now," Grandma grimaced. "We're going to the hospital."

"That's why I came," I sighed. I so didn't want to do this but they did know more about ghost pregnancies. Dr. Reynolds was doing the best she could but I have no idea if a male pregnancy or a ghost pregnancy for that matter is different from a human female pregnancy.

Grandma waved her hands and green ectoplasm began to put the groceries away, including the food they set out before Grandma left. "Let's go!"

O_O

"You are nineteen weeks and five days, Mr. Phantom," the doctor, a female, had replied. They had asked me if I wanted a male or a female and let me just say that I didn't want another male seeing me naked. She done an examination of my sensitive spot and has ordered some topical lotion to help with the healing. "Your baby is doing fine, Mr. Phantom, but you need to start taking better care of yourself. You're severely fatigued, malnourished, you're stressed and your vaginal area has been seriously injured. I'm ordering some fluids, some bed rest, and a new diet."

"I can't be stuck in bed," I declared. "I have work I need to do!"

"Just get some rest," she answered. "At least six hours a night."

"Are you nuts," I declared. "I have a schedule that's out of whack!"

"Then get rid of it," she declared. "Is your baby important to you?"

"Of course," I barked.

"Then take care of her," she declared. "If you don't, she won't make it to full term and I'm not sure if she could survive life outside of the womb this early."

"I have a town to protect, a secret—several secrets—to keep, school to go to, a kingdom to run and a list longer than my arm to do. I need more time to do these things—not less!"

"Get your body under control," she declared. "If you don't do it now, when your third trimester gets here, you will be depleted in a manner of days!"

"I'll try to take better care of myself," I replied. "I'll set a three o'clock curfew for myself, I'll start eating better, I'll learn to say no but I can't say no to my town. People's lives are on the line."

"And so is your daughters," she declared. "If you want to kill yourself, that's your choice but don't drag your daughter down with you." She checked and wrote something down on my chart. "I want to see you again in two weeks."

"Fine," I replied. She wrote something else down and floated out of the room.

"You are free to go," she replied. "Kill yourself," she added under her breath.

I met with my grandparents. "What did the doctor say," Grandma asked.

"I'm nearly twenty weeks," I replied. "And everything's okay."

"She wasn't concerned about your weight or anything," Grandpa asked, confused.

"She said I was underweight but because of my halfa status, it wasn't hurting the baby."

"Okay," grandma said, looking at me in suspicion. I didn't need to worry them. I'd get my life under control.

O_O

I flew back to the castle after inviting my grandparents there anytime. On the way into our office, I informed Steven about the invitation. Of course, he said. Sam and Tucker were in the middle of interviews as I took my seat. I began my interviews immediately. Steven said we should be finished after one more day of commitment. I know we wouldn't finish today and more likely not this week but hopefully by next week, I should be ready to start making selections.

On patrol, we had managed to give Jazz the slip again. No one wanted to include her on our patrols because she just tried too hard and it usually ended up disastrous. We left the Nasty Burger earlier than we normally would (five-thirty) so we could sneak past her. It was just after six and patrol was coming along beautifully. No big ghosts but the streets were crowded like always. No ghosts usually meant bad news.

I was following a signature, leading Sam and Tucker to the sight of our next battle when something wacked me in the back of the head. It hit me so hard that I actually fell down. "Ow," I cried out, more annoyed but it did hurt. I rubbed my head, rolling over on the sidewalk. Sam bent down beside me as Tucker stared in shock. I pulled myself up as Sam picked up my attacker.

"What in the world is this," Sam asked, confused. "It looks like a boomerang!"

"There you are," a voice declared. I looked down the sidewalk and groaned. "I missed you yesterday so I said I was going to find you today!"

"Jazz," I groaned. "The boomerang?"

"It found you," Jazz retorted.

"What is it," Tucker asked. Sam handed him the device.

"It's an invention of Mom and Dad's," I explained. "It seeks out a ghost's signature and follows it straight to it. It's kind of like a personal ghost tracker."

"What good is this," Sam asked. "It has to have a ghost's signature to track."

"Yes and no," I replied. "A single one isn't any good unless I can reprogram it. If it isn't locked on a ghost, it will seek out the closest one in the area—hence that one finding me. However, it won't seek any ghost but me unless I can reprogram it."

"So it's programed to your unique ecto-signature," Sam smirked. "This could come in handy!"

"All it's done to me is give me migraines," I said, rubbing my head. "I've been whacked by that thing four times!"

"You know I want to tag along," Jazz complained. "Why you'd leave early is beyond me?!"

I groaned, agreeing in sarcasm. "Well, I need to find that ghost. It won't stay put forever!"

"You're tracking a ghost," Jazz declared happily.

"Of course," I smirked. "I'm always tracking ghosts. I track ghosts from six in the evening to after three in the morning!"

"Well, let's go," Jazz declared. I heard Sam and Tucker taking bets on how fast it would take her to get me hurt. I rolled my eyes, picking the trail back up.

O_O

The next morning saw school starting over. School was like always and afterwards I went to therapy. I had an idea and I wanted to know how this would end.

"I have an idea," I sighed as she put my notebook away.

"Okay," she said, looking at me. Dr. Richardson interlocked her fingers on her desk.

"I want you to counsel Vlad and I like in marriage counseling," I said, expecting the worse.

"I thought you broke up with him," she said, much calmer than I anticipated.

"I have," I sighed. "But I'm not sure if that's something I want."

"Danny," she sighed. "You need to forget Vlad!"

"He's the father of my baby," I declared. "I can't just forget he exists. I'm going to have to have a working relationship with this man. I should at least make sure I've done everything possible to make this work!"

"You're either compatible or you're not," she sighed. She was already in the process of surrendering.

"And I know that," I declared. "I'm not trying to force myself to love Vlad. I'm trying to identify what we have! I don't believe I'm in Syndrome but I'm willing to have an open mind. I have to at least see what this is."

"Are you wanting to cancel your individual appointments," she sighed.

"No," I replied. "This is where it gets tricky. I'm becoming to overloaded in the evenings. I was wondering if we could make the appointments on Monday through Thursday at night." I was nervous and my voice displayed that. I didn't know how I could spit it out.

"What time at night," she replied.

I took a shaky breath, "Patrol is from six to ten. I have my late night shift normally ten until three but I was hoping you would do an eleven o'clock session. I'll do whatever you want me to do. I'll pay you for your services."

"Nonsense," she declared. "I can do that. How about I meet you two at your house in Elemerton?"

"How did you know I have a house in Elemerton," I asked, confused.

"I looked up Vlad Masters and he's in the phone book. I looked up that address and I found out a boy named Danny Fenton owns the address," she replied with a smirk. "I checked after our last session. You are the Fenton's boy."

"You cannot seek my parents out," I declared in fear. I feared Mom finding out I've been to the free clinic more than I fear being discovered as a half ghost or even Danny Phantom.

"I won't," she said softly. "I just had a suspicion." She took a breath, "Would you be more comfortable in your own home?"

"I was actually going to suggest a session at your house so you wouldn't have to be out so late," I said softly. I didn't want to appear like I was inviting myself to her home.

"It's not an issue," she smiled at me. "If you'd like to do the session at your house, I could do that. If you want to do the session here, then I can do that too. I'd rather not have the session at my house. I have children who will be asleep."

I nodded, completely forgetting. "Of course. I'm sorry."

"Don't worry," she replied. "I don't want to sound like I'm inviting myself to your house but I know most patients are more comfortable in their own homes."

I chuckled, "I was thinking the same thing. I think it would be okay to do the sessions at the house. I can set up the spare bedroom to be more comfortable."

"I don't suggest that," she said softly. "Your couch, your bedroom, or your kitchen is a better option. Anyplace that you can identify as normal are usually the places that produce the best results."

"Okay," I nodded. "Do you need directions?

"No," she replied. "I'm familiar with the area. I live here in Elemerton, a few miles from your property."

"Really," I replied. I didn't know that. I thought everyone was from Amity Park.

"Really," she smiled. "So how do you want to do this?"

"I want to have two full days, Mondays and Fridays, devoted to couple therapy and Tuesdays and Wednesdays devoted to individual therapies," I replied. "I was thinking Tuesdays could be my day and Vlad could talk to you on Wednesdays." I paused for a moment, "But I haven't discussed any of this with Vlad. He just asked for a chance to show me his devotion."

"You go home and talk to Vlad," she replied. "I want to switch up the days, though. Since you're here now and Monday's are usually a day for you, I want to keep Mondays and Wednesdays for you. Tuesdays will be couple therapy as well as Thursdays. Fridays will be spent with Vlad. Okay?"

"I hadn't planned on having classes on Fridays," I replied, taken aback.

"I want to work with you on both this couple class and your personal issues," she replied. "We'll leave all issues about Vlad and the baby for Mondays but Wednesdays I want you to open up to me about your insecurities with your family and friends about your life as a hero."

I huffed but didn't say anything. I was getting tired of being called a hero but I was more tired of declaring that I wasn't. "Okay," I replied.

"Good," she replied. "So, you go home and talk to Vlad." She pulled out a business card, "Call me when you get his answer. Day or night."

"All right," I said, taking the card. I stood up.

"Oh, and Danny," she called on me, "First part of the week sessions will be focused on Relationship issues. When you begin the second part of the week sessions, write about you personally. Okay?"

"Got it," I replied. I went to Dr. Reynolds's office. I had to wait a while because she was with another patient but soon I was welcomed in. She always took me when I came in. She knew I was busy and she always fears me leaving from impatience or conflicting schedules.

"Good afternoon, Danny," she said, a bit of surprise still in her voice. "I didn't suspect you to be finished with Elaine so fast!"

"I asked her to do things differently," I replied, floating on the examination table. It was ridiculous to be getting another exam when I had one yesterday but Dr. Reynolds wouldn't have it any other way. "I'll still be here on Mondays and Wednesdays but I'll also be here on Tuesdays and Thursdays."

"Good," she declared happily. "Why did you want to increase your sessions?"

"I wanted to start couples therapy," I explained. "I've been having some issues with Vlad and I wanted to do all the necessary steps."

"To save the relationship," she declared, disappointed.

"No," I sighed, "to find out if I was ever in love with him to begin with." I remained quiet for a moment but continued after my momentary pause, "I'll salvage the relationship if what we have is real but I won't do it because of any desire either of us have."

"Okay," she said but the disappointment was heavy in her voice. She slipped a blood pressure cuff on my arm and activated it. They had one specially ordered for me because of how high my blood pressure was. When I was calm, their normal ones would work but relying on me to be calm was foolish. I was always stressed, taking my blood pressure to levels that would burst the veins of normal people. She grimaced. "I'm worried about your blood pressure," she declared. "You're still way up there in la-la land!"

"I'm working on it," I sighed. "One of my ghost physicians taught me how to deal with stress," I chuckled, "and it has nothing to do with beating the hell out of a ghost."

"No," she declared. "That just takes it up higher! When did you start seeing a ghost physician."

"Yesterday," I replied. "I have an appointment in two weeks."

"What did they say about your health," she asked me, crossing her arms.

"Oh, she had a lot to say," I chuckled. "She's ordered me on bed rest."

"I've been suggesting that for months," she grimaced at me. "Did she succeed at where I've failed."

"No," I snorted. "I promised her I'd take it easier because even I've noticed the strain on me lately but I can't just ignore these things."

"What have you noticed," she replied.

"Nausea, heartburn, aches and pains," I listed. "They're constantly with me but it's worse when I push myself."

"You need to eat smaller meals," she advised me exactly how Mom had. "Frequent small meals is the best way to deal with nausea and heartburn. Avoid citrus fruits and juices, anything spicy, greasy, caffeine and fried foods should be avoided. Drink ginger ale to alleviate the symptoms and saltines usually help too."

"Shouldn't my nausea be over," I asked, the question nipping at me for weeks.

"You should," she nodded, "but every pregnancy is different. The nausea may not be morning sickness. It could be your body telling you you're hungry."

"I never got sick before last month and I've gone a month without eating—anything," I declared.

"Well, you're pregnant now," she replied. "That's what your body is trying to tell you. You're supplying nutrients for two now. Your ghost powers are preventing you from starving to death but your baby needs those nutrients."

"Oh," I declared, understanding dawning on me. "The basic nutrients that my body makes for me is going to my daughter but I'm not getting anything. I get it!"

"Or the other way," she replied. "I'm not sure if you're hungry or if the baby is hungry, but you get the picture."

"Oh, it's definitely me," I chuckled. "Lilly has no problem telling me what she wants when she wants it."

"Tells," she asked, confused.

"We communicate frequently using telepathy," I replied. "That's how I figured out I was pregnant. She asked for apple juice."

"Holy cow," she declared, putting her hand to her head. Her other hand hung there, clenching her side. Finally, she returned her other hand to its previous position, crossing her chest.

"I just wanted to tell you that you may see more of me," I replied. "I don't want an exam every time I come here. I don't think I need two a week!"

"You don't," she grimaced. "I was going to tell you to see me again in one week. I think you're ready to be taken off majority of your prenatal meds. You only need two."

"I don't think I need any," I declared. "Prenatal drugs are for deficiency issues!"

"Exactly," she declared. "You are severely malnourished. I'm trying to compensate for the lack of nutrients you get."

"But our powers compensate enough," I tried to make her see.

"You rely on your powers too much," she replied. "You always have faith in those powers to heal you, or help you survive starvation or prevent you from dying from exhaustion. I know that your powers must be brought down by all the compensating that they do! For crying out loud, you're not invincible!"

"No," I agreed. "He's definitely not me."

She looked at me funny but ignored my comment. "You need to start taking care of yourself. Everything comes with a price tag. What does all that compensation cost you? Are you weaker than you think because your powers are being drained?"

"I don't think so," I commented.

"How do you know," she demanded of me. "A human can go weeks without food but it starts to drag the body down. You said you went a month without eating once. A normal human would starve before that but I'm betting on you just started to slow down. A human may go a week without eating with minimal side effects but all it takes is a few hours before the hunger pains attack. Is that what happened? You went 'a few hours' without food!"

"When I hit rock bottom through that, my stomach was in knots," I replied. "I didn't have the energy. I would pick up on emotions a lot faster. If Sam or Tucker would get fearful then catch on and control themselves, I would practically attack them. I was like a wild animal."

"Those emotions were like being in a kitchen or a cafeteria and smelling the food. When they showed fear and masked it, it was like putting a steak in front of a dog that hasn't eaten for days and then snatching it away. You were in the early stages of starvation." She was going over this in her head. She was letting me follow along but this was mostly for her. "I'd say you can go three months to six months before starving to death. Your powers would probably start to mess up after two months."

"I don't know," I said, struggling with her hypotheses. I didn't want to test it, that was for sure.

"You have to have repercussions," she declared. "Your powers just make you a heightened being. They do not make you a full ghost and you're not immortal. There has to be a line. There is a limit that you can push yourself to and if you attempt to exceed your limit, you will pay the consequences."

"I'll start to eat better and I'll start getting extra sleep," I promised her. "What prenatal meds do you want me to take?"

O_O

I flew over to the house after my appointments, my stomach in knots. I munched on some saltines but they did little to ease the nervousness. I wanted to do this. I wanted to see what Vlad and I really were. Did we truly love each other, did we love the feeling or did Vlad just do what he had to for success? I opened the door, not bothering to knock. I didn't knock because I owned the house but because I know Vlad knew I was here. Besides, I gave the house to Vlad.

I walked into the house to see him sitting in his favorite chair, reading a book. "Hey," I said softly, closing the door behind me. "I hope you don't mind me coming over."

"Of course not," Vlad said softly. "It's your house."

"I talked to Dr. Richardson like I said I would," I said, keeping my voice soft. I sat down on the couch across from him. "I want us to attend couples counseling. I think that I done wrong when I said I could pretend those first three months never happened. I might have forgiven you, but I think I separated you. Vlad never hurt me, Plasmius did."

"We both hurt you," Vlad said softly. "There is a difference between the two just like there are differences between Phantom and Fenton but neither one of my personalities are clean when it comes to you."

"I don't know if we'll ever go back to being a couple," I said softly, "But I promise you that I will put an effort into seeing what we have. If you are telling me the truth about loving me and not wanting me, then we have nothing to hide."

"I love you," Vlad said. "If I could go back and change one thing, I would let you go after the first thirty-two hours."

I smiled sadly at him. The thirty-two hours was a part of my life I desperately wanted to forget. When I think of Lilly's conception, I also view it as 'the rape.' The thirty-two hours are hard for me to accept, even though I know what they gave me. I have never and will probably never have another moment that can compare to that. Those hours and Dan have a shelf all of their own, unparalleled to anything, even each other. The rest of my life, even the portal accident, is evaluable. I don't consider the accident a bad day anymore because while so much of my life has been screwed to hell because of it, so much of my life has been made better.

O_O

I waited for Jazz today because honestly, I dreaded the boomerang more. However Jazz told me she had plans this evening so after she made sure I was prepared for patrol, she let me go. Part of me was grateful for the break but another part of me wanted to break the neck of the boy she left with. I don't know if the rumors are true but I know Jazz isn't a virgin anymore.

We went on patrol, Tuck and my mind not quite in the battle. Sam was the one taking charge of the evening's battles due to her separation from Jazz. With Sam, it was like separation of church and state. To Tuck and I, Jazz was our sister. Finally, I snapped out of it but Tucker remained in that state of mind. I had to save Tucker on many instances. Finally, I had enough.

"Tuck," I declared after capturing the ghost. "I know it's not easy but you need to get your head in the game!"

"I'm sorry," Tucker retorted. "I'm thinking about finding that boy anyway!"

"We can't do that," I sighed. "Jazz knows what's she's doing. She has protection and she's on the pill. We can't tell her how to run her life."

"Why not," Tucker retorted. "She tells us how to live ours!"

I would have laughed if this had been any other situation. It had been nine months since we learned of Jazz's nickname, All That Jazz, and it still wasn't easy for either of us. Hell, I decked Josh for telling me 'to tell my fucking sister to get off her F-ing high horse and fuck him.' I've had many instances where the guys would try to pressure Jazz through pressuring me. The rumor is she'll do any guy who is her age or older but I know how those rumors go. I'd like to believe that Jazz has pissed someone off and they started that part of the rumor up.

"Tuck," Sam sighed, "Jazz is a grown woman. If she has any problems, she knows we're here for her."

I had to agree with Tuck here. "But will she have the courage to ask for help." I gently raised my hand in Sam's direction. "Sam, you know how it is. I hate to bring this up, but you weren't exactly asking for help that day."

"Yeah," Sam said, her voice level. She didn't appear affected at all. "But I did call when I got in over my head. I know I could have been raped for real that day if I hadn't called you guys."

"There's more than rape," Tucker said, his voice soft like mine. It appeared that we were the only ones affected by what the C-crew did to Sam but we know differently. "She could get sick from having unprotected sex!"

"Jazz has protection," I repeated.

"Rubbers aren't reusable," Tucker grimaced.

"Oh, I make sure she has a fresh supply," I replied. "And I check. I don't count on her telling me what she needs."

"What about pregnancy. Rubbers break, you know," Tucker continued.

I took a deep breath. "There's only so much we can do, Tuck," I sighed. "We can only provide for her and show her another way. I wouldn't be so worried if it was a steady boyfriend but she intends to live her life this way!"

"I don't know why," Sam snorted.

"I think it has more to do with freedom," I replied. "She doesn't want to be tied down. She is so involved in her studies and I think she's afraid of being classed as a true Fenton nut job. Sure, everyone knows she's a Fenton but we haven't been signaled out for being like Mom and Dad. She's afraid if someone really got to know us," I kept my voice low, even afraid to admit this myself, "they'd know how much we're like our parents."

Sam and Tucker broke out in smiles, knowing how hard it was for me to identify myself under my parents' obsession with all things ghostly. I may not have the goggles and the 'wonder gut' as Tucker said, but I am my parents' son. "Are you ready to focus on patrol," Sam asked Tucker, turning to look at him.

"I think so," Tucker sighed. "I guess we should be happy for her." He chuckled, "At least she's getting some!"

I cracked a soft smile in Tucker's direction but I couldn't help to notice the same smile that Sam sent in his direction. I decided to file that look away to go over later. I hoped it was about the C-crew but Sam is usually so fortified about those instances. I think she could muster more of a smile to Tucker's idea of a joke if it was about that.

O_O

I started for home at two-fifteen, hoping to get home by at least three. The way I saw it, more sleep was good and if ghosts bombarded me, I should have plenty of time to deal with the threats. I pulled that look from the back of my mind and started going over all the possible scenarios in my head. I made it home relatively early and dressed for bed. Mom wasn't waiting up for me so I think it's okay to start dressing for bed before I head out. It's always easier that way.

I was in the Manson Mansion and I was upset about something. From the way I woke up, I knew that I was dreaming. These kinds of dreams are always easiest to identify because I don't have to deal with both of us waking up. I was reading a note that I held in my hand. I went over the letter for myself.

_My Dearest Pamela,_

_I know what I'll write will upset you but you must know that I have to make a decision. I know Samantha well and I know her enough to know she will never submit to my rules. For this reason, I have decided to cut her from the inheritance. I have many grandchildren who all want the family business so I have decided to cut a few black sheep from the family. Because Samantha is your only child, a daughter no less, I am omitting you from the will. You, my daughter, have made me proud. You took control of your family when there was no order from your husband and I am so very proud of you but I know you are provided for. I am sorry your daughter turned out more like the family she bears the last name of than our family. I know she could have been something great if she had._

_With love,_

_Dad_

"He called her a black sheep," a male voice declared, angry.

"It's those Fenton's," I declared, outraged. The voice that came from my mouth wasn't my own. If I'm not mistaken, it was Sam's mom.

"Well, I think our daughter is perfect the way she is," her husband defended Sam. I do too.

"Oh, please," I snorted. "She was a much better daughter before we moved to this town! Now she's causing us to lose the inheritance!"

"We don't need their money," Mr. Manson tried to reason. Mrs. Manson didn't think so.

"You can't have too much money," I retorted. "I'm going to make this right!"

"Pamela," Mr. Manson warned. "If your idea of making this right is changing our daughter, you better think again!"

"Oh, shut up, Jeremy," Mrs. Manson snorted in my dream. "I always have made this family more disciplined!"

I walked off, leaving Mr. Manson in her wake. She stormed into a room, slamming the door shut and locking it. She picked up the phone, dialing a number by heart. She listened to the sending tone.

"Hello, Flanders residence," a man answered.

"May I speak to my father," Mrs. Manson remarked. Wow! Sam's mom's maiden name is Flanders!

"Of course, Madam Pamela," the man responded.

A few restless moments later, an elder voice came over the line: "Did you get my letter?"

"I did, father," Mrs. Manson spoke softly. "I am sorry my daughter is such a disappointment. I would like to prove to you, though, that she can change."

"I've seen her, Pamela," the man declared. "The child is lawless! How can that be disciplined?"

"Because she hasn't had the right teacher," she said, her voice hopeful. "I know Jeremy will be reluctant to do this but if I keep minuscule details from him, then we could make this work!"

"Would you be willing to subject Samantha to a full disciplinary," he asked.

"I would," she answered. "Samantha may act tough but she has a soft spot. If I play up on the fact that her aunts would be beaten if the males got the money, she'll fall for the bait."

"What if she refuses the conditions," he replied, mulling over the proposition. For some reason, I couldn't see what Mrs. Manson was scheming.

"She'll rebel," Mrs. Manson remarked, "Especially when he realizes what a bad influence the Fenton and Foley boys have on her but I can pull the wool over her eyes here, too."

"The other grandmother," he remarked.

"She's a sucker for her," Mrs. Manson remarked. "If I threaten to send her to a nursing home, she won't risk the possibility even if her instincts tell her what is true: Ida is in control of herself and her fortune."

"Last I checked, the youngest Maes boy was still available for hire," he replied with enthusiasm. "I'll give you until she graduates. If she can't pass my test, then there won't be any more second chances."

"Thank you, Father," Mrs. Manson acknowledged. "Good night."

"Good morning, Pamela," he remarked. Their salutations confused me. Why would one say good night and one say good morning? Did one have it wrong?

The scene changed but I remained in Mrs. Manson's point of view. She was at an airport. A young man, in his early twenties, approached Mrs. Manson. "Manson," he asked. He had a thick accent but he spoke perfect English.

"Mr. Jonah Maes," Mrs. Manson asked.

"I am he," he replied. "Your father sent me?"

"It was both of our ideas," Mrs. Manson replied. I was getting confused. "Come with me. I will begin your payment."

The scene changed again but this time, I didn't know where they were. The man was still with Mrs. Manson. "So, when do I meet Samantha?"

"Later," Mrs. Manson replied, "and she's off limits. I have a lot at stake and I can't have you screwing this up! If you break our agreement, all offers are off the table. I'll have you deported, I'll take every penny I give you out of your hide and I will make damn sure you don't step foot in this country again! I'm not ready for that! We're not ready for that!"

"I understand, Mrs. Manson," he replied, his voice soft.

"I must first get Samantha under my thumb before I get her ready to be placed under yours," Mrs. Manson replied. "She has a free spirit and I want her moldable, not broken."

"Of course," he replied. "So I'll stay here?"

"No," she replied. "At least for now you won't. I want Samantha living up here. I will set you up in a wing for a few months then you will move in with Samantha."

What?! Sam can't sleep in the same room as a grown man! Why do I have a bad feeling about this? When does this all take place and why am I dreaming of it? It can't have anything to do with the look Sam gave Tuck last night.

"Thank you," he replied. Mrs. Manson led him out of the room. Once they had descended a set of stairs, I recognized the house but I never knew that part of it. It was Sam's house!

I shot awake, the sun shining in my eyes. I jumped up from the bed quickly to notice I was dressed.

"Easy," Sam said, her voice soft. My heart was pounding hard.

"What happened," I asked, trying to capture my breath.

"You were having a prophetic dream," Tucker replied. "I dressed you in hopes we could make it to school. We couldn't."

I looked to the clock and groaned. It was after eight, "Damn, that was a long dream! I was in bed at two-thirty last night."

"Wow," Sam said, surprised.

"Well," Tucker sighed, "We're in no big hurry to get to school. The silent proof was set and we hollered at Mom and said we were leaving. She thinks we're at school."

"Yeah," I retorted, "well, I don't like that. Mom's been on a mission to find out my secret. What happens when she calls to check up on me?"

"She won't," Tucker dismissed. "Mr. Lancer just told her you weren't in school because he called here about summer school."

"Still," I sighed. I transformed, "Let's go!"

I opened their minds but they sighed. They grabbed their bags and Tucker tossed me mine. We took to the air. Mr. Lancer was going to kill me.

O_O

I spent all day trying to figure out that dream. What was Mrs. Manson planning or going to plan? Has this already begun? I didn't think so because my dreams are prophetic which means to see the future. I saw from where she got the idea so I don't think she's got the letter yet. I just need to figure this puzzle out!

School went like normal but I was especially excited about the two hours between school and patrol. I actually had time to chill with Sam and Tucker instead of having things to do. With no new episodes of the series coming out any time soon and I having seen all the episodes up to the events of last week, I had nothing to do in the afternoons. It was amazing seeing as the ghosts usually avoid the town during this time. I had free time!

Of course, Sam wanted to spend that free time at the castle, assigning nobilities. I had no real problem with that. It was still us three hanging out together and not hunting ghosts. It was still all cool!

Jazz tagged along for a small amount of time this evening. She started to realize that we three usually were the ones to act first and once we acted, the ghost was usually in the thermos rather quickly. We worked so well together and most of the events were ho-hum. Only a rare few attacks were major issues and I've noticed that they usually become episodes. Oh, lord!

Jazz ditched us around eight and left us alone for the last two hours. Unfortunately, for me, during those two hours, I was battling a hot Egyptian firebird determined to collect riches. It was actually one of my longest battles even with Sam and Tucker with me. She was both determined not to hurt us but nor allow us to catch her, causing all kinds of chaos. The girl was damn good with her powers and knew how to keep us at arm's length.

We were finally able to pull a win out of the bag by going in as a team. There truly is nothing out there better than Team Phantom. All three of us collapsed on the sidewalk after the battle.

"Damn," Tucker gasped, sucking in air. It spoke volumes.

"I second that," I remarked. I was in human form still so I could breathe.

"She was good," Sam gasped. "I liked it."

"Me too," Tucker chuckled weakly.

"It was cool," I admitted. It was rare to find a ghost that good that didn't want to kill us and what's more, it was rare to find a ghost that took any length of time to defeat. Usually it was a fast process.

"It's time for curfew," Sam sighed. "I know I'm ready for my room."

"Can I come over," Tucker asked.

"Sure," Sam replied. I felt a little better. If Sam wasn't in her traditional room, I'd hear about it from Tuck.

**AN: I realized this morning that I was supposed to public a new chapter companion yesterday. It's up now. Sorry for the delay. Leave me a line and go check out my poll. I haven't posted any new QAs yet but I will be getting to those. I've barely had time to proof read these stories and get them posted every day. That takes precedence.**

**Instead of making a new poll, I'm just going to ask a question here. Do you think the episodes are smothering my original story or are they helpful little hints to where this is taking place? I try to balance the episodes to my original content but I don't know if I completely succeeded here. Let me know if you wouldn't care.**

**Thanks!**

**Team04Phantom**


	12. Chapter 12

**Disclaimer: I don't own Danny Phantom or Secret Weapons.**

**Warning: This story contains reference to rape, sexual content, male sex and pedophilia. If any of this disturbs you, please do not read.**

**Chapter 12: Shadows and Tails**

Dr. Richardson was waiting for me when I made it to the house. Vlad had made some food and I made myself a very small plate. I was trying to follow Dr. Reynolds's orders about the small, frequent meals. I sat down beside of Vlad.

"How was your day," Dr. Richardson asked me.

"Okay," I replied. "I enjoyed having my afternoons back."

"I'm glad," she smiled. "Okay, I will be one hundred percent professional here. I have no stakes involved, I know nothing about the history; treat this as if this is the first time we've talked."

"I'll go first," I sighed. I didn't want to go first, of course. I had no idea what I was going to do but this was my idea so I'll do the right thing. For now, though: first things first. "Vlad," I said, turning in his direction, "I need you to be honest with me and I need to be honest with you. No matter what it may do to the other, if we want to get to the bottom of this, we need to be honest with each other."

"I agree," Vlad said, taking my hand in his. He kissed it gently.

"Okay," I sighed. "I guess we start from the beginning. I met Vlad at a reunion of my parents," I began. I was nervous and my stomach was in knots but I knew this was something we needed to do. It wouldn't be easy. I would have to go back to those hellish hours and Vlad would have to go back to those dark thoughts but I hope from so much pain, the truth will come out.

O_O

The next day at school was the same old thing so it went by like always. After detention, we were walking home from school instead of flying. Tucker was on his PDA, trailing behind Sam and I. Sam had asked if we could go to the castle again, hoping to get the system up and running. However, Tucker started acting strange.

"Wait, wait, wait," Tucker spat out in one breath. "I have another idea. Please, please, please!"

"What," I laughed as Sam chuckled.

"They're playing a movie marathon at the theater today," Tucker said, still just as excited. "Can we go! Please, please, please!"

"What movie," Sam asked.

"And when does it end," I added.

"It pushes into patrol but only by fifteen minutes," Tucker said, "But it's Cyber Commander!"

"Really," Sam declared. "That's awesome!"

"I see no problem with it," I remarked. "If I get a ghost sense, I could always handle it and come back!"

"Yes," Tucker jumped. "It starts at Four o'clock."

"That gives us time to get home, get something to eat and make it to the theater," Sam said.

"I thought you said it was a marathon," I asked, confused. How could it be all three movies and be over at six-fifteen. That only covers one movie.

"It is," Tucker said, his voice soft. "The marathon runs from four to eleven."

Oh, I get it now. "Tuck, we could watch the marathon," I said. "Like I said, if I get a ghost sense, I can take care of it."

"But we can't leave you to handle the attack by yourself," Tucker objected.

"It's no big deal," I stated. "Let's just hang this evening."

"What about therapy," Sam declared all of a sudden. "Today's Wednesday!"

"Oh," I declared. "I had the time changed. I see her during my late shift at eleven o'clock. She didn't mind having such a late session."

"Really," Tucker asked, surprised. "Have you made any progress with her?"

"I've started talking," I sighed. "It does help, a little. I get the biggest release from my journal entries. She's having me write down a log for each day that I don't have therapy with her."

"What are your days," Sam asked.

"Mondays and Wednesdays," I replied. "I'll see her tonight."

"Good," Tucker smiled. "Maybe she'll help you realize that you can open up to us and we won't explode."

O_O

We bought the three tickets and went into the theater. Sam sat down on the aisle seat while Tucker took one two chairs down. He put his gadgets in the chair between the two, giving me a place to sit without worrying about someone sitting on—or in—me. We decided that in case I did get a ghost sense, I would stay invisible so I could sneak out unnoticed. I was only invisible so I was careful not to sit on Tucker's bag. Tucker had his PDA still on him and he had the tracking program activated just in case there was a ghost outside my 'Doppler.'

I nearly made it through the first movie when both my ghost sense and Tucker's PDA went off. Both were silent so it didn't interrupt anyone's experience. Since Tucker could track my every move, I whispered, "I'm going."

"Be careful," Sam whispered.

"If you're not done in ten minutes, we'll be there," Tucker added.

"Don't worry," I said, floating through the roof.

O_O

The movie ended just before eleven but I wasn't worried. I had time to get to therapy and Mom and Dad, both of them, thought we were at Sam's. Instead of asking for an extension, which we all knew they'd deny; we just made up an excuse. It wasn't anything unusual. Sam and Tucker stretched.

"I can't believe we made it through all three Cyber Commando movies," Sam declared.

"I could have used a little more cyber and a little less commando but that's just me," Tucker replied. "I'm all about the cyber!"

We all three looked around but Sam still announced, "All clear, Danny!"

"Sweet," I declared, turning visible. "I can't believe I managed to dodge Jazz today," I stated off hand. "Ever since she found out about me fighting ghosts, she's been a little-," I stated.

"Danny," a voice declare from beside me. I was tackled to the ground, gasping from the shock.

"Pushy," I stated, completely needless.

"You know you should never leave the house without a Fenton Thermos," Jazz declared. What the hell? I have a thermos! "What if there's a ghost around?"

"Jazz, lighten up," I said after realizing what had happened. We have a dozen thermoses just lying around in case I need one and she probably came across one, thinking it was the one I always used. "There's a system to these things. Ghosts attack, we exchange a little witty banter, I kick ghost's butt, and we go home after learning some kind of lesson about honesty or some such nonsense."

I'll be damned if Jazz didn't take out a notebook and take notes. "Attack, witty banter, kick butt, lesson; got it," Jazz mumbled.

"Besides," I said, crossing my arms. "If there were a ghost around, my ghost sense would go off," I stated. I gasped as my sense went off.

"Like that," Jazz asked in shock.

I looked to the sky but didn't see anything. Duh, the ghost is a mile away. "Tuck," I asked. He already had his PDA out.

"Skulker," Tucker declared. "He's hunting you again," Tucker declared in shock.

"Again," Jazz cried. "As in more than once."

"Don't worry," I smiled at her. "There's a rhythm to these things, remember." I kept my eyes glued to the sky, waiting for his shiny butt to come out. It was the night shift after all. I usually see Skulker at least twice. "Hey," I declared. "Why aren't you at home? It's eleven o'clock!"

"I couldn't find you," Jazz remarked. Her eyes went huge, "Is that him?!"

"Yeah," I smirked. "Where do Mom and Dad think you are?"

"Jessie's," Jazz stated, a little distracted. I was watching her now and not the skies. She was growing increasingly confused. "Why isn't he coming down?"

I looked up, "What?" Skulker was flying past the theater. He would have known I was down here. "Skulker," I declared. He looked down but put his eyes back on the trail. "He's ignoring me?!"

"He might be up to something else," Sam said, looking to the PDA. Skulker was barely a light in the night sky.

"We need to go," I replied. I swear, if he's on a mission from Vlad, I will so kick his butt. He isn't supposed to be doing this kind of stuff anymore! But who else would Skulker be working for? I refuse to believe Skulker is out for an evening stroll!

"Come on," Jazz declared. "You fly and I'll bring Sam and Tucker in the car."

"But—," Sam and Tucker objected.

"That's perfect," I interrupted them. I didn't want them following too closely anyway. I know Jazz just doesn't know that I can allow her to fly there but I'll take my blessing where I can get it. I lifted into the air, hearing Sam and Tucker screaming my name in anger. I pulled my cell phone from my pocket. I didn't have time but I needed to make time.

"Danny," Dr. Richardson answered.

"I'm a little busy," I declared in a rush. "Can we meet tomorrow?"

"What time is your lunch tomorrow," she asked me.

"Eleven-fifteen," I answered.

"I'll pick you up in front of the school," she replied.

"Wouldn't it be easier for me to fly," I asked, thinking it would certainly be faster. I followed Skulker on Axion Lab's property. My mind instantly went into panic mode. This was where the C-crew nearly raped and killed Sam.

"Do you know where my office is at that time," she asked.

"You work somewhere else," I declared in shock.

"I don't get paid for the work I do at the free clinic," she stated, almost sarcastic. I phased through the building, staying in the air.

"Okay," I declared. "I'll meet you in front of Casper High at eleven-fifteen!"

"Good," she said, the smirk in her voice. "Be careful Danny."

I agreed in a mumble, "Bye." I didn't wait for her to reply back because I had Skulker in my sights. He was holding a bottle of some kind. "Bloodstream Nanobots," I read aloud, letting him know I was here. Apparently, he wasn't paying attention. Skulker reacted with the bottle slipping out of his hands. He juggled to catch it as I asked, "What are Bloodstream Nanobots?"

Skulker grabbed the bottle, grunting in aggravation. He turned in my direction, shooting a net but he left me on the floor. He was definitely on an assignment. I released some energy, evaporating the net as my energy tore through the invention.

"Hey," I declared, upset. "Get back here! You didn't even call me whelp!" Okay, Fenton, this is getting weird.

I chased Skulker outside of the building but he was already in the sky, flying away. I caught a scent of someone in the area and I looked down to check who it was. Sam, Tucker and Jazz were out of the car and in pursuit of Skulker. What are you going to do, Jazz, chase him on the ground? Get back in the car!

"You just earned a one-way trip to thermos-land, ghost," Jazz declared as she pointed the thermos to the sky. No, he's not been weakened, I thought but before I could speak it aloud, a blue beam shot through the night sky. Jazz fell back from the blast and I noticed the new trajectory of the beam. Before I could do something about it, though, the beam caught me. With the surprise of what was going on, I didn't have time to fight the hold. Within a second, I was traveling through a series of tubes.

"What just happened," I cried out alarmed. The thermos was much more different than I imagined it. There was a tiny capsule in the thermos that held all these little slabs. The slabs were hollow and that's where I was. Before I thought the thermos was compact but never before had I realized how compact. Each ghost has it's own space but unfortunately, I think they're the size of microscope slides. I have absolutely no room to move and the only thing I can think of is, "and I thought the Fenton Weasel was a tight squeeze!"

"Think I should work on my witty banter," Jazz's voice asked, echoing though the thermos. She sounded like a giant from my position.

"Try your aim," Tucker's voice echoed through the thermos, annoyed.

"Give me that," Sam declared, furious. Her voice actually rocked the thermos from the force. Suddenly, I felt myself being thrown about erratically. I screamed out as I felt the sensation of losing control. "Danny," I heard Sam's voice. "Danny, are you okay?"

"I'm fine," I replied. "Can someone get me out?"

"Danny," Sam cried. "Shoot, he can't hear us! Way to go, Jazz!"

"Me," Jazz declared as I swallowed hard. "This wasn't my fault!"

"Well, it sure as hell isn't Danny's," Tucker retorted. Oh, crap! They can't hear me and I never showed them how to empty the thermos.

"Let him out," Jazz cried. "I know he must be in pain!"

"We don't know how," Sam shot at her. "Danny never taught us how!"

"You've been helping him for months but you never learned how to empty the thermos," Jazz declared in disbelief.

"Your parents made the thing," Sam retorted. "Do you know how to empty it?"

"Let's go to Sam's house," Tucker said. "Maybe we can bust it open."

"Let's go to the Fentonworks," Sam suggested. "We'll have more tools at our disposal."

"True," Tucker agreed. "Hold on, Danny. We'll get you out!"

Oh, I hope so! Man, I never knew how tight this thing is.

O_O

They had tried everything in their power to open the thermos. They had no clue as to how to open it without destroying it so they were trying to crack it open. However, the thermos proved to be a bit tougher now than it was when the streetlight landed on it. It took Dan two weeks to break out of the thermos and my powers were nowhere near his level. I thought about trying the ghostly wail but I knew that if I tried, I'd be drained of energy.

The thermos spun out of control from the latest blast they sent at it. I closed my eyes and held in the scream. I should be used to it but it was still so unnerving to be spinning out of control. "Damn," Tucker's voice echoed through the thermos.

"I don't know what else to try," Sam cried in disappointment. "How are we going to get him out of there?"

"We only have one choice," Tucker said, his voice soft. It still echoed through the thermos but it created a softer vibration. "We have to ask Mom and Dad Number Two for help."

"No," Sam retorted. "Danny should still be in ghost form in there and if they discover him, he'll either have to tell them the truth or have them dissect him or something. Even if he is in human form, how would we explain it? I don't even think ecto-poisoning could explain that."

"Well, what are we going to tell them in three hours when it's time for school," Tucker retorted. "What are we going to do then, huh?"

"I don't know," Sam declared. She was tired. They all were. If only I could talk to them. I have no way of knowing when they were going to try again. If I did know, maybe a combination of their attempt and my powers could do the trick. I could feel the thermos tremble when I tried but it does almost the same thing when they talk. I don't know if that was a sign of it working or not.

"Let's get Mom and Dad up," Tucker tried again.

"If Danny's not out by the time Mrs. Fenton gets up, then we'll do it but I still think that damn thing will crack," Sam declared. The thermos jumped and I screamed from the surprise. I didn't expect her to try again. I took a calming breath but it didn't work. I really hate that!

O_O

The thermos jumped, spun, flew and tumbled many times as they tried to crack it open. I couldn't hear Jazz so I don't know where she was. I didn't really care though because the longer I stayed in here, the more my patients went out the window. I screamed again, but this time with aggravation as the thermos started to spin again. I felt the ghostly wail rip out. I silenced it quickly, in fear of what would happen.

"Did you hear that," Sam asked quickly.

"It was soft but… yeah. I think I did," Tucker said, in shock. "Danny?"

"Danny, do it again if you can hear us," Sam asked.

Oh, God, here goes nothing. I took a deep breath and released a short burst of energy. The thermos started trembling as the power rocked it back and forth.

"He can hear us but we can't hear him," Sam declared in excitement.

"Well, what good does that do," Tucker asked, a mixture of excitement and disappointment in his voice.

"There's something that is connecting us," Sam declared excited. The thermos started to rock and I let out a quick scream. I grunted out once I got control over myself again. Light shot through the thermos and I had to shield my eyes from it. "Danny," Sam cried.

"Sam, Tucker," I screamed with all my might short of a ghostly wail in hope they'd hear me.

Sam and Tucker broke out in laughter, "Thank God," Sam cried. "Danny," Sam stated again. "How do we get you out of there?"

"Take me to the portal," I screamed again. "There should be a device there with a long neck. Put the thermos in the mouth of the device. I'll come back in!"

The thermos started to shake again but the light disappeared. A hiss of air vibrated through the thermos and something sucked me out the same way I came in. I screamed as I spiraled into the Ghost Zone. I shook my head once I was inside the Ghost Zone and flew back into the human realm. Sam and Tucker's relieved faces met mine.

"Danny," they both cried, rushing over to me. I hugged them back, exhaling nothingness.

"Hold on," I said as I pulled away. I powered down. "That's better," I sighed as the air rushed through my lungs.

"Are you okay," Sam cried.

"I'm fine," I said, breathing in a big gulp of air. "Dang that thermos is tighter than I ever imagined!"

"We're so sorry," Tucker said, his voice borderline begging.

"Hey," I said, cutting him off before he could say anything more. "You guys didn't do anything." I looked around the room, my mood going darker, "Where's Jazz?"

"Are you kidding," Sam spat. "We locked her out. She could be still in front of the door for all I care!"

"I can't believe she sucked me in the thermos," I declared. I picked up the thermos from the disposal unit and looked at it. "I've always known you were small real estate but I had no idea how small."

"What was it like in there," Tucker asked me.

"Crapped," I replied. I forced a laugh. "There are these tiny little glass or something discs in there and they hold the ghost." I held up my finger and thumb, barely leaving any space between them, "I had this much space!"

"What was that," Sam asked, "I mean, whatever made us hear you."

"Ghostly wail," I chuckled. "I guess I got too frustrated and it came out in a ghostly wail."

"Thank goodness," Tucker breathed. "You might have been stuck in there all night."

"What time is it," I asked. "Last I heard we had three hours until school."

"It's been an hour since then," Sam said. "It's five-o-eight."

"Six hours," I declared, counting in my head. I hadn't done the math before. "Unbelievable!" I took a breath, "I'm sorry you guys have been up all night."

"We wouldn't leave you alone," Tucker said, putting his hand on my shoulder. "Even if you were in there." He started laughing, holding up his fingers like I had: "That much?"

I took the thermos in my hands, snapping it in two. Sam and Tucker groaned and I didn't need to be a mind reader to know why. They've been trying to do that all night. I held up the smaller piece of the two, the bottom of the thermos. I could see the discs inside, "See that," I said, pointing to them. "That's what I was in."

"Dang," Sam breathed. "That is tiny."

"It squeezes you until you fit right between those panes of glass," I said, ripping one of them out of the capsule. I snapped the glass in two, showing them how little space was between them. Tucker burst out laughing.

"Tucker," Sam scolded.

"Oh, come on," Tucker retorted. "That's hilarious!"

"It so was not," I objected. "I may change my capturing device!"

"To what," Sam snorted.

"The Weasel," I retorted. "At least it has more room."

"And how do you know," Sam said, crossing her arms.

"I was in it," I stated. "When Vlad put that bounty on my head."

Sam groaned, "You didn't tell us but why is that surprising?"

"I don't know," I shrugged. Speaking of Vlad, I need to have a word with him.

"Let's go," Tucker chuckled. "We need to get out of here before Mom and Dad wake up."

"They shouldn't be up this early," I replied. "Jazz is supposedly at the Adkins's and I'm supposedly at Sam's. They should sleep in." I chuckled, "Besides, they're probably wore out."

"Why would you say that," Sam asked as Tucker chuckled.

"I caught Mom and Dad in bed after parent-alone-time," I chuckled, "and now they don't do that kind of stuff with kids in the house." I turned up my nose.

"Are you saying that Mr. and Mrs. Fenton were—," Sam began, a little grossed out.

Tucker burst out laughing, "Yep!"

"While we were—," Sam said, turning green.

"Yep," I repeated Tucker. "Never fails." I started for the door.

When I opened the door, Jazz had her head on the Kitchen table, sleeping restlessly. I walked over, putting my hand on her shoulder. Jazz came to in a jolt, "Danny."

"I'm out," I grimaced.

Jazz wrapped her arms around me, "I am so sorry! Danny, I didn't mean to."

"I know," I said softly. "Just, next time, wait for Sam and Tucker to call the shots. We've been doing this a lot longer."

"Next time," all three declared, Sam and Tucker in anger while Jazz declared in surprise. All three were in disbelief.

"We weren't perfect when we began, either," I said softly. "I remember telling Lunch Lady I commanded her to go away."

Jazz smiled, "Thanks."

"Don't mention it," I replied. "Let's go. We can't be here if Mom and Dad wake up early."

"Right," Jazz said. "I haven't heard anything but I'm not counting on that scenario."

"Neither am I," I agreed. We headed out, going to the Manson's. We could kill someone in that house and it wouldn't come on the Manson Radar.

O_O

Tucker was still giggling about last night, even after we flew to school. Jazz left at normal time to go to school and so did we, except our normal times were about thirty minutes apart. Jazz always made it there earlier than required. We made it there late as possible. Sometimes, though, we don't make it there at all. Sam was walking beside me in aggravation. At least she was on my side.

"It wasn't funny, Tucker," I declared for probably the fiftieth time this morning.

"Six hours in the Fenton Thermos," Tucker laughed, "It is totally funny!"

"Oh, yeah," I said, getting an idea. I pushed Dash's books out of his hand while he was flirting with a girl. He didn't see who done it. He glared at me seeing as I was his favorite. "He did it," I said, pointing to Tucker. Dash did exactly like I thought he would. He grabbed Tucker by the back of the shirt and stuffed him in his locker.

"Danny," Sam scolded as Dash and the girl went away. No one paid attention to the 'dweeb' being shoved into a locker. And why should they? It was normal. "I know you're annoyed Danny but look on the bright side. Maybe it's that kind of mistake that will make Jazz back off!"

Sam cracked the combination and opened the locker. She walked out of the way so Tucker could climb out but someone cut in and slammed the locker shut. "Damn it," Tucker cried from inside the locker.

"Hey guys," Jazz cried happily. Or not. "I done some research on our mystery ghost last night that I never got to show you."

"You mean Skulker," I asked, amused. I crossed my arms.

"Let's just call him Ghost X," Jazz said, all official. "And from my research, I'd classify him as a hunter of some sort."

Sam stepped behind Jazz and started to unlock the combination. "Oh, she's good," Sam said in false amazement. "We didn't figure that out until he started screaming, 'I am the Ghost Zone's greatest hunter.'" Sam made her best Skulker impersonation.

"I made a composite sketch of Ghost X," Jazz continued, oblivious to the comedy she was giving us, "and some fun, witty banter for your next encounter." She handed me a folder. I opened it up, seeing a poorly drawn image of Skulker. "Bye!"

"Let me see that," Sam said as she left the locker again. Tucker climbed out, stretching. I wondered if Jazz even knew what she did. Probably not. "See you later, X. X marks the spot. You've been Xed! None of these are funny!"

"Nothing's as funny as Jazz sucking you in the thermos," Tucker chuckled. Really? He's still on this kick! "You can't beat broad, physical comedy like that with a one-liner!"

Looks like I'm going to have to teach him this lesson again. I saw Kwan talking with Star. Perfect. I pushed his books out of his hands like I done Dash. This time I just pointed to Tucker. Kwan picked up Tucker by the front of his shirt and roughly pushed him in the locker, bending the door. Ouch!

"But if Jazz thinks she's helping, maybe she'll stop interfering as much. Worth a shot," I asked.

"Worth a shot," Sam agreed with a smile. Class would be starting soon so we continued to class.

We walked into the classroom and Sam and I pulled our desks together. I looked to where Tucker—Tucker! The bell rang.

"We forgot Tucker," Sam said at nearly the same time I was going to say the same thing.

"I'll go get him," I said.

"No," Sam objected. "We'll go together. I forgot to get him out. I can't let you take the blame."

We left our desks where they were but slipped our bags over our backs. "And where do you two think you're going," Mr. Fuluka asked.

"I think Tucker got put in a locker," I told a tiny fib. "We're going to find him and we'll be right back."

"Can't just one of you go," Mr. Fuluka asked.

"No," Sam answered, walking out the door.

"We'll be back in a moment," I replied, following Sam.

We returned to the locker that Kwan locked him in. I looked around the room but no one was around. I reached my hand into the bent portion of the locker and straightened it out. Tucker climbed out of the locker without a moment's hesitation. I heated my hand up with ectoplasm to mend the locker.

"How could you," Tucker cried. "I'm sorry! It's not funny. I know it's not funny."

"Sorry, Tuck," I smiled at him. "I got carried away when I thought about how to get Jazz off my back, I forgot about you. I am so sorry."

"Same here, Tuck," Sam said. "I should have remembered."

"You just wanted to torture me," Tucker whined. "I'm sorry! Six hours in a locker may not be six hours in a thermos but I got it!"

"You weren't in there six hours," I scoffed. "You were in there not even six minutes."

"I know how long I was in there, Danny," Tucker cried.

"Obviously not," Sam said, smirking. "Let's go. We promised Mr. Fuluka we'd be right back."

I shut the door to the locker, "Come on."

O_O

We went through school like normal and patrol started. We invited Jazz to come along with us. I took the first ghost that come along so she could see how it's done. However, the next one, I was going to let her take it. Lunch Lady had taken over a deli. "Okay, Jazz! Now!"

Jazz came out with a Jack-o-nine-tails, "Watch out," she taunted, "I'm trained in these things!"

"Trained by Dad," Tucker yelped as he and Sam hit the floor. The invention captured me and Jazz unknowingly chucked me at Lunch Lady. I screamed from the surprise but she made her mark. I crashed into the meat slop.

Lunch Lady yelled in rage and I looked up to see Tucker capturing her in the thermos. "I'm helping," Jazz yelled excitedly. I've got a bad feeling about this.

O_O

"Are you sure there's a ghost around here," Jazz asked as we walked towards Floody Waters. "How do we get inside? It's closed."

"We've got a free pass," I said with a smile. I put my hands on the wall, turning it intangible: "After you!"

Sam, Tucker, Jazz and I entered into the building to find everything frozen over. "Won't anyone be my friend," a voice wailed.

"Klemper," we sighed in annoyance. Even Jazz could handle this one.

"I got this," Jazz declared. "Give me your best shot, friendly fiend! You haven't got the guts! Huh," she said as she ran towards Klemper with the Fenton Anti-creep stick.

"You're going to use the Fenton Anti-creep stick," I said in shock.

"I know what I'm doing, Danny," Jazz declared. "Did you notice my pun?"

"Yeah," I said, unimpressed. "The guts joke would have been better in the last fight."

Jazz started to slip and slide, losing control. She started screaming in fear as she slid. I covered my head, just trying to get through this. It shouldn't hurt me—whack! I screamed as I flew backwards, hitting a frozen water slide. I fell on top of Sam and Tucker, the ice covering us. Klemper flew away screaming.

Jazz gave us her best 'oops' smile. I floated Sam and Tucker out of the pile, healing their cuts and bruises.

O_O

Sam and Tucker were under a pile of boxes, looking unimpressed. They could have gotten out but they chose to stare at our fight. I decided to try to minimize the chance of getting Sam and Tucker hurt and weaken Box Ghost myself. Finally, I felt like Jazz could capture him effortlessly. "Okay, Jazz," I cried.

She burst into the warehouse, "I got him! I got the Creep-Creep!"

"Creep-Creep," Box Ghost cried out in outrage. "I am the Box Ghost!" I covered my face. "Who are you?" A moment passed, "Seriously, who is she?"

I heard a rocking sound and looked up to see Jazz pointing the thermos with the top off in our direction. Jazz was tipping backward and forward. I already see where this was going. The beam shot out and I was once again going in the thermos.

"Hey, Lunch Lady," I said, settling into the tight space.

"Not so cool, is it," Lunch Lady said.

"Don't worry, Danny," Jazz said. "We'll get you out of there… eventually."

The thermos shook and a whooshing sound filled the container. Box Ghost yelped as he was sucked inside. I sighed. Maybe I'll see how Box Ghost gets out and make this not completely a waste of time!

O_O

After Sam and Tucker showed Jazz how to empty the thermos, Jazz drove them home. We decided to call it a night early and I planned to sneak out without Jazz knowing. I tried to talk to Jazz but it wasn't working. Before I could elaborate about the issue, Dad grabbed me and brought me around to show me another invention. I guess I'll have to talk to Jazz tomorrow before patrol. I won't get another chance.

"We call it the Ecto-converter," Dad said excitedly.

"What does it do," I asked, crossing my arms.

"It converts the energy of a ghost into a replenishing fuel source," Mom declared. I nodded my head, impressed.

"Does it hurt the ghost," Jazz asked.

"Oh, Jazz," Mom laughed. "You know your father and I don't care about that!"

"Yeah," Dad declared. "If we hear it screaming, then we'll know it's working."

Great, another thing to watch out for. "Good thing there's no ghost here, huh Danny! No ghost here," Jazz whispered in a taunting tone. "We know something they don't know," Jazz sang.

"I get it," I declared in a hushed tone. She keeps this for three months but she's about to burst now? "Can we let it die now," I sang back myself.

Jazz hummed happily, smacking me on the back. I didn't expect the slap and I lost my balance, something else I wasn't expecting, falling towards the RV. I may have been falling but my world was spinning as I slammed into the RV. My hand landed on the Ecto-converter. A green light encased the invention and I started to glow in the night. I felt my eyes sting as a hum erupted from the invention. Suddenly, the RV jetted through the fence and jumped a few inches.

"Wow," Jazz said, surprised. "You should learn how to control your powers better." She walked off but I stood there with my hands on my knees. I really should have been able to prevent that. What happened?

I looked in the direction that the RV traveled and saw that the RV had stopped shortly down the road. Thank goodness, because I have enough energy to probably send them to Missouri or further.

O_O

Sam, Tucker and I went back out without Jazz, taking care of the ghosts that were left. However, I didn't last long before that dizziness returned. I didn't want to admit it (and I wouldn't to Sam and Tucker) but it was probably a pregnancy symptom. I didn't go back out after I dropped Sam and Tucker off, deciding to get some rest. I was pretty tired.

My ghost sense went off while I was asleep, causing me to stir. I sat up, stretching, as I sensed out the ghost. First, I would determine where I sensed it from and then I would determine if it was a threat. My gut twisted in knots as I attempted this new lifestyle but I knew it was for the best. Stress was not good for Lilly so I had to make a decision. For months now my town has been the upmost priority but now I have my daughter to consider. Since I can't erase any more of my responsibilities, I'll just have to decide what matters most.

I located the ghost in the lab and I wasn't concerned with it. I laid back down, snuggling into my covers and trying to fight the feeling that I was doing wrong when I heard something. I opened my eyes again, listening intently. The sounds of shatters and large objects being tossed around came to my ears. This couldn't be a coincidence. I have to go check it out.

I powered up and phased through the floorboards. Skulker was tossing my parents' inventions and their equipment, tearing the place apart. I was startled a little bit that I didn't recognize Skulker's signature. I guess I was just too tired. "And here I thought you weren't hunting me anymore," I teased, knowing he had his chance to attack me. Skulker really was on a mission.

"Where's the ecto-converter," Skulker demanded, absolutely no nonsense in his voice. I covered the surprise and confusion I felt.

"That's more like it," I taunted. "You make demands and I ignore them!"

Skulker pulled a cannon from his shoulder, pointing it at me: "Talk!"

"Ecto-converter, ecto-converter," I played with him. "Oh, here it is! In my hand." If he knows me at all, he'll see this coming. I shot a blast at him but surprisingly, he acted surprised himself. He slammed into the anti-ecto walls of the basement but nothing happened. His suit did protect his ghost body after all. Skulker attacked me, sending me in an upwards motion. All this movement is really making me dizzy.

O_O

I didn't have the strength to put up with Jazz when she showed up on the scene. She practically handed the ecto-converter to Skulker and then she shot me with a gun. I just wanted some sleep and I knew I wouldn't get any if this kept up. Jazz had the thermos in her hand and I actually considered it. "Is that empty," I asked her, my voice soft.

"Yeah," Jazz said, her voice ashamed. "I didn't get Ghost-X."

"Don't bring me out til morning," I said. "Allow me." I popped the top off the thermos, activating the suction. It captured me immediately but the force of the suction was still surprising. With this being the third time captured, I should be used to it.

O_O

My first ghost attack of the day had Jazz mysteriously joining me. She actually didn't get me hurt or in trouble but the fact that Jazz had found me, during a ghost attack in the middle of first period spoke volumes to me. Jazz would be there for the next attack. Jazz went back to class for the remainder of the period but I was not going anywhere near Science class. I found a closet and hid. During class changes, the closet opened and I gasped in fear.

"Danny," Sam and Tucker said, coming inside. "Are you okay?"

"No," I declared. "This is driving me nuts. Jazz is driving me nuts!"

"What now," Tucker said, annoyed.

"I think she has a ghost tracker," I said, scanning the area. I was overloaded and freaking out. It was just like when Youngblood attacked the second time. "She found me when I fought that ghost!"

"What did she do," Sam said, taking a seat. Tucker sat down to my right.

"Nothing," I sighed. "I had the ghost caught before she made it but it's already begun! I can't take this!"

"Do you want us to say something to her," Tucker asked me.

I took offense to this, "I think I can talk to my own sister!"

"That's why you're hiding from her," Sam scoffed, "in a broom closet!"

"Am not," I retorted.

"Danny," I heard her voice outside the door. I could hear a set of footsteps getting louder. She's coming in here! "Are you in there?"

I leapt into a trashcan, sinking as low into the banister as I could, "Hide me!"

Light cut into the shadows and disappeared again. Jazz came over and sat down between Tucker and Sam where I had been moments ago. "Cool secret meeting place!" I peeked over the trashcan's rim fearfully. "I think I pieced it all together. I think he's building a super weapon. I have compiled a list of Ghost-X's accomplices." Jazz began. She had her laptop in her hands, sorting through the ghosts. I stared in shock at the sight. I created those files myself.

"Where did you get that," I declared, standing up in the trashcan. My world spun but I took a deep breath. I'll have to talk to Dr. Reynold's about these dizzy spells.

"From your computer," Jazz said, not seeing a problem.

"You hacked into my computer," I declared. "How did you get the password?"

"It's Paulina Fenton," they all said in annoyance.

"Seriously, Danny, it's not that hard to figure out," Sam continued.

"How come you never told me Vlad Masters has ghost powers," Jazz changed the subject, angry. She pulled up Vlad's profile, his picture changing from Masters to Plasmius, "and he has a thing for Mom?"

"Because it's none of your business," I retorted, having had enough. There was only so much I could take and I just passed that line.

"Danny, calm down," Jazz said, her voice losing its aggravation. She sounded concerned now but I just couldn't take it anymore.

"Calm down," I retorted. "How am I supposed to calm down when you're sticking your nose where it doesn't belong?" How dare she judge Vlad? How dare she make these assumptions about what Skulker was up to? She doesn't know the least about ghost hunting! She never even took an interest before last week!

"I was just trying to help," Jazz explained, shrinking.

"No one asked you to help," I retorted, unable to calm myself down. Something inside me was telling me that now I was going too far. I wanted to explain this to her gently but I just couldn't find the patients any more. "You're a lousy ghost hunter, an overbearing sister and an annoying, obnoxious know it all with no respect for your brother's privacy so stop helping!"

Jazz burst out in tears, running out of the room. I happened to notice that Tucker and Sam were nowhere around. I stood up, the weight of what I just done weighing on me. I took a deep breath, deciding to follow Jazz. I walked out to notice a large gathering had formed outside of the closet. They enclosed around me. Just great! Now I've gotta fight my way through these idiots.

"What gives you the right to upset Jazz," one of the many guys demanded.

"Oh, push off," I retorted. "She's my sister. It's none of your concern."

"Yeah, well I say that it is," Tommy retorted, stepping closer to me. "No one upsets All That Jazz!"

"Like she would ever date you!" I sighed. Just get it over with. I'm not in the mood to deal with these losers.

"Why she even cares about you is beyond me," Tommy retorted. "You're a little wimpy freak! I don't even think you're really related."

"Can we get this over with," I said. "I have places to be so if you're not going to shove me in a locker or beat me up, I'm leaving."

"You'll leave when we say you can, wimp," Tommy retorted. I took a glance around and suddenly realized why Tommy was taking the lead. He was the highest ranking student around. Dash, Paulina, Kwan, Star, Chris, and Ashley were nowhere around.

"I'm outta here," I groaned, pushing past Tommy's chest with a shove. Tommy grabbed my shoulder, angering me. "Let me go," I said, my voice going hard.

"I said you'll leave-," he began again.

I so don't have time for this. I gave my shoulder in a hard yank, Tommy losing his grip. I turned, escaping his attempt to grab me again. I backed out of the group, using the border that was the weakest to my advantage. I briskly walked down the hallway.

"Hey runt," Tommy yelled in an uproar. I saw the fabric in my shirt wrinkle out of the corner of my eye.

"I said let me go," I declared, grabbing his arm. In a swift movement, he flew over my shoulder and landed on the floor. "I'm not in the mood, idiot!" I stepped over his crumpled and surprised form, continuing my march.

I heard Tommy gasp in surprise, "What the hell just happened?"

O_O

I still didn't make an effort to go back to class, deciding to seek out Mrs. Baker. I stopped at my Spanish classroom, peeking in the door. Mrs. Baker was teaching a class. I gently knocked on the door, signaling her to me.

"Danny," Mrs. Baker asked me, the look of worry in her eyes more pounced than they are normally. "What are you doing here?"

"I'm not feeling like going to class," I said softly. "I was wondering if you needed some help teaching your class. I know you have Spanish classes all day."

"I appreciate that," she said softly. Here it comes. "But you need to go to class."

"I'm not going to class whether I stay here or not," I said gently. "I won't get into trouble. I rarely do this but I just can't put up with this."

"What's wrong," Mrs. Baker asked me, holding her right arm in her left hand.

"My sister and I have been getting into fights," I sighed. "She's really popular around here so all the students are taking her side… I just don't want to be who I am when I'm in class. I want to be who I am when I'm teaching."

"Are you starting to like teaching," Mrs. Baker smiled.

"Actually I am," I smiled back. I've known for some time now that I would become a teacher in the future but I've finally started accepting that fact and not like I accept the other things I'm not too thrilled about. I really am excited about being able to teach these kids new things. Honestly, I've always been a teacher but before, I taught kids how to be a ghost hunter.

"Well, I'm glad," she remarked. "You really have a talent."

My smile faded, "So, could you use some help?"

"I guess I'd rather you be here than getting into trouble elsewhere," she sighed. "Come on in," she said, opening the door.

"Thank you," I replied. The students in this class would be just like they are elsewhere but I have more control when I'm teaching.

"Class," Mrs. Baker said, stepping inside. "This is Danny. He understands more about your lessons so he will be assisting me with the lesson plans. Please give him the respect he deserves." Mrs. Baker walked towards the desk, "Danny, could you grade these papers for me. I'm going to go tell your teachers where you are."

"You don't need to do that," I replied, following her to the desk.

"I want to," Mrs. Baker replied. "If they have any questions, please help them. They have something to do now so you don't need to teach any lessons."

"Okay," I said. Mrs. Baker left the room as I took the seat. I was listening to the class but I was grading the papers at the same time, appearing to be distracted. A few of the students started to whisper about what happened between classes. I ignored their gasps and growls as I continued to grade the papers. I wouldn't be affected here like I am elsewhere.

"What happened between you and Jazz," one girl asked, her voice soft. I looked up and noticed it was Amber. She was one of Jazz's friends.

"We've just had some bumps in the road," I sighed. "We'll get over it."

"I know you will," Amber smiled as she resumed her work.

"What gives you the right to treat her that way," another student asked. He was Jazz's age but wasn't a close friend. I didn't recognize him.

"It's none of your business," I retorted. "She and I will work through this like we always do. It's not the first fight we've had!"

"Jazz wouldn't appreciate you dissing her brother, either," Amber spoke up. "You may think you're protecting her, but she'll kick your butts if she finds out you gave Danny any trouble."

"I don't think she'll ever trust him again," one guy retorted. "She probably wouldn't care!"

"That's enough," I said. "Continue your work."

"You're not the teacher," the guy scoffed, "and even if you were, you can't tell me what to do!"

"Because you're A-List," I scoffed. "Try me!"

"Why," he chuckled cruelly. "What's the thrill?"

"For you, nothing. For me, it can help me lose some tension," I said, looking up at him.

"How about this," he smirked. "Why don't you try me?"

"One, it'd be too easy," I said. "Now continue your work or you'll be spending the rest of the day in the library, working your fingers to the bone."

"Big words for such a puny boy," he smirked, not believing me.

"You're right about one thing," I said, standing up. "I'm not the teacher." I walked to his desk, picking him up by the back of the shirt. "That means I don't have rules telling me how to interact with the students!" It's not like I could get into trouble anyway. I heaved him out of his desk, picking up his bag with my other hand. I dragged him out of the room, taking him to the library.

"Let me go," he declared. "Hey, runt, I mean it!"

"Doesn't look like it to me," I smirked. I dumped him in a chair in the library, dumping his backpack and Spanish book on the table. I pulled out my cell phone, dialing a local National Guard office. I wouldn't pull out the big guns. The Marines would scare the hell out of this wimp.

When the Guardsmen arrived, I ordered them not to let him out. I told them I would return soon, walking to the office. I leaped over the counter, grabbing the registry and looking up the kid's classes. I wrote them down, going to each one and getting his work.

"Make sure he works," I said. "If he doesn't, feel free to get creative. That's an order."

"Yes, sir," the sergeant replied.

"When Dash hears of this," the boy, Greg I found out his name was, demanded.

"You want me to tell him," I smirked. "I've had it. I'm not the person you think I am and I've had it with pretending to be who I am not. When you see someone who has more authority than I do, you are looking at two people: my mother and my boss, George Samuels. The President of the United States calls me sir!"

I walked out of the room, slamming the door. I turned to the two guardsmen standing guard: "No one goes in but me or anyone I might have with me. Am I clear?"

"Yes, sir," they both declared. They saluted me and I returned the salute. I walked back to class.

O_O

"Danny," Mrs. Baker asked me. "Where did you go? Greg's missing!"

"Oh, he's not missing," I replied after I entered the room. "He's in the library, where he'll stay for the rest of the day."

"Why," Mrs. Baker asked, surprised.

"I warned him," I replied. I opened the textbook and placed the papers beside of me. I taught while I graded, the ability to separate my minds to do two tasks relatively easy.

O_O

Before lunch, I put the Marines that were off duty in the area on alert. When lunch arrived, I had twenty people in the classroom. All were from the first two classes. By the time the class I am usually in, no one wanted to test me. A second battalion of Guardsmen arrived, bringing the total to sixty Guardsmen on school property. Most hung around the library, but about a dozen were within earshot, delivering the prisoners to their cell. I kept the students I had transferred to the library, twenty-three in all, there until detention was over.

"Next time I say it's none of your business, obey it," I declared. "You're free to go."

"When Dash hears of this," one of the eleventh graders seethed.

"Dash already knows," I shot. "Who doesn't know in this school?" I smirked, "Who wants to mess with them?"

One of the Guardsmen snorted but said nothing. I knew what he meant, though. Most were fearful of the Guardsmen but the Guardsmen were all, how do I say this, respectful of me. A select few, called the G Force, knew about ghosts and that's the selection these Guardsmen were from. These guys were all Green Berets and Special Forces in their own right… until it came to the Green Berets G Force and the Special Forces G Force. Those soldiers were hard-core but they were reserved for special assignments.

O_O

Sam and Tucker smiled brightly at me as I rejoined them. They had no clue what was going off with the issue but they had heard plenty about it. We walked home, Sam and Tucker absolutely thrilled that I exposed my leadership there. However, when I arrived home, I was met with the complete opposite reaction from my parents. Perhaps I went too far.

"Danny, what on Earth did you do," Mom declared. "I've been on the phone all day long with numerous people. Samuels has called, the superintendents of the region and the state have called; I've been on the phone with the President! What happened?"

"I warned them," I gave the same excuse I've given all day. "I wasn't in the mood for their crap so I put my money where my mouth was. I won't do it unless something like what happened today happens again. Don't worry."

"I'm not worried," Mom sighed. "I just want to know what happened. You've never had to do this before. I had to tell President Bush who you were!"

"You mean that he forgot," I asked, surprised.

"He knew the name Radar but he couldn't figure out where he'd heard it from," Mom explained. "I had to remind him about Samuels's Radar."

"That refreshed his memory," I chuckled.

Mom lost her battle to control her laughter, "It sure did. He nearly had a heart attack and said he'd call the Superintendents back."

"I'm sorry I've given you some trouble," I replied. "It won't happen too often, if ever again."

"Okay," Mom sighed. "You kids go do your homework."

"Do we have any," I asked Sam.

"For the first three periods," Sam replied. "The school became a war zone after that."

O_O

After patrol, I went home. Tonight was Vlad's night for therapy so I was off the hook. My sleep was disturbed by Mom and Dad as they came in. I sat up before they even shut the door, looking to the clock. It was just after midnight. "Danny," Mom said as she came in. "Have you seen Jazz?"

"Jazz," I asked, stretching. "No. I haven't seen her since yesterday."

"Neither have we," Mom said. "We can't find her anywhere! She's gone!"

"She didn't come home," I declared. I hadn't even checked when I came in from patrol. I just went straight to bed.

"No," Dad declared. "Which is so unlike Jazz."

"She's never left before without saying anything," Mom added, in a panic.

"She usually talks and talks," Dad continued. "Big words I can barely understand."

"Do you know why she wouldn't come home," Mom asked me. I saw that look. With my behavior yesterday and now this, she was suspicious.

"Or why she'd take the Specter Speeder," Dad added.

Oh, my God. "She's hunting Skulker!"

"What was that," Mom asked me. Dad was looking at me funny as well.

I can't allow them to know this. I may have to do this as Phantom. "I said I'm so upset about Jazz leaving that I'm going to skulk-er." I really need to get back in the swing of lying again. For some reason, I've lost the one thing that I was such a talent at. "Gotta go! Bye!" The longer I stayed, the more opportunities they had for figuring me out. I leapt out of bed, stumbling as my world went around quickly. I gained my bearings, running for the portal. Mom and Dad were left stunned in my room.

"I called her a lousy ghost hunter," I belittled myself. I thought she'd get over it but now it seems that she's still sore. "So now she's hunting Skulker to prove me wrong! If anything happens to her," I said, getting queasy. I triggered my rings, flying into the Zone, "now it's my fault!"

O_O

I signaled out Skulker and I had him in my mind's eye. I focused on hitting something from Earth when one of the many doors opened. I slammed painfully into the door, falling backwards. I pulled myself out of the fall, demanding of Skulker: "Where is she?!"

"What are you talking about, whelp," Skulker asked as if he didn't know. I swear if he's hurt her, he will not survive. He will be the first ghost I would kill!

"Where is Jazz," I demanded, "What have you done with her?"

"I have done nothing with your sister, ghost child," Skulker lied through his robotic face. I would make him pay for this! "Skulker hunts what he hunts. Nothing more, nothing less. Which is why I am bringing this to my employer." He held up something in his hand and I noticed it for the first time. It was Technus's staff.

"Just tell me where she is," I demanded.

"I do not know," Skulker replied. "Now leave me."

I fired a shot at him but Skulker dodged it. I heard something else though and looked up to see Technus. I froze as he came out completely naked, everything in full view. The only way to reveal his penis is to be aware of it! I felt something strike me but it wasn't as horrifying as Technus there wearing nothing.

"Thanks for the help, but I think I'll be delivering you to my employer as well," he replied. A cube expanded around me, trapping me. This isn't going at all how I had planned.

The motion of moving without moving myself sent my world spinning again, and I leaned on my hands and knees to steady myself. I was growing incredibly nauseas but I refused to be sick. I would get out of this, save Jazz, destroy or mangle Skulker and beat Vlad's ass. I just had to make the world stop spinning first. "Danny," I heard a female voice. I looked up to see Jazz looking at me strangely.

"Jazz," I asked, completely confused. Where were we? How did she escape from Skulker?

"What are you doing here," I demanded from her at the same time she demanded it from me.

"Do you two know each other," I heard another voice. Vlad stood there in this room, looking at me strangely.

"Yes," I replied as Jazz said no. Okay, "No," I changed my answer as Jazz too changed hers. Fine! "Sort of!"

"I'm torn," Vlad said, sighing in resignation. "I love the idea that you've left your father for me but I'm suspicious of your motives now." I get it now. Jazz did figure out what Skulker was doing. She didn't go after the messenger. She went after the source. "I guess there's just one thing to do."

"Let us both go and let the courts figure it out," Jazz asked. Afraid not, Jazz. To Vlad, he's above the law. He's worse than the Paranormal Ghost Hunters ever dared to be.

"Close," Vlad said thought I know it was furthest from it.

O_O

"Uncle Vlad," Jazz said, a little weary. I was freaking out because Skulker had forced Jazz in the suit. I've been there before and I know how fast that suit can drain you of your energy however with me trapped, I was helpless to save her. "Is this all really necessary?"

"Why Jasmine," Vlad said, "You didn't expect me to take you in without first testing your loyalty. I've modified Jack's ecto-skeleton using the ecto-converter and the lightning rod as a continual power source. Meanwhile, the nanobots will control your breathing and heart rate."

"So the suit won't waste me," Jazz asked, relieved.

"No, so I can if you betray me," Vlad declared. Oh, when I get my hands on you! You promised me you'd stopped this crap! I mean it this time, it's over! "But that needn't to happen as long as you behave like a good little adopted daughter to be!"

"Let her go, Vlad. She's clearly just some clueless know-it-all who got way in over her head," I replied. Fight me. Let's see how well you do against someone who's put up with your shit for far too long.

"You're toast," Jazz declared, looking at me. I should have known she'd take offensive to that.

Oh, well. "Oh yeah? You and what toaster?"

"And that's my cue," Vlad said softly but I picked it up. Jazz's suit began to whine and she was startled by it.

"On my signal, run," I replied. I'll deal with Vlad.

"You're not the boss of me," Jazz retorted. "I'll run when I feel like it!"

Oh, "Fine," I declared.

"Fine," Jazz retorted. Jazz started to run so I followed her. We were equal but she passed me. Hey! I'm the fastest! I took to the air, catching up with her. No one out runs me! When we made it to the white line of the football field, we were both caught in a force field. I could hear Jazz's screams but barely over mine. Finally, we fell out of the static.

"I fixed the ghost shield too," Vlad taunted. "It works on ghosts and humans. You kids have fun!"

There's no other way. "We're going to have to fight," I said. "But we're going to have to make it look convincing."

Jazz punched me, forcing me to the sky. There was a shield there, too, sending me through that experience again. "That's for humiliating me in front of the entire school!" Yeah, like you got the worse end of that. I nearly started World War III.

"Okay," I sighed, not wanting to bring that up. That shield hurt and she did have that suit on. I did not want to hit it again. "I deserved that and I'm sorry. You were just trying to help. But please, just follow my lead."

Jazz hit me again, sending me flying across the field. If I thought my nausea was bad before, it was worse now. I will not throw up, damn it! I'm through with that sickness. Jazz met me on the other end, hitting me again. At least I didn't hit the shield. Jazz was waiting on me as I fell to the earth but if she thinks that I'll just be her punching bag because I yelled at her, she's seriously mistaken. She has no idea how this little thing called morning sickness feels. It may be early in the morning but this damn stuff can happen any time of day!

Jazz went to hit me again but I caught the hand to the suit. Jazz gasped in surprise as I turned her intangible, slamming her into the ground. How can I put this through her thick skull: "Will you listen to me for once in your life?!"

"Duh," Jazz whispered. "I'm listening to you now! You told me to make it look convincing!"

I stood up, surprised. She was taking my advice. Jazz pulled herself out of the hole I stuck her in, lifting me in the sky. "Jazz! No, don't, please," I called. It sounded so fake but I had to give something for Vlad to regret later on. If our performance before was so good that it fooled me, it was certainly fooling him.

Jazz tossed me to the sky where I hit the shield again. I screamed out for real as I slammed into it but it was short lived. I slammed into the earth, making an indention.

"Danny," Jazz whispered. Either she was worried about the scream or she's not familiar with how much pain I can take. I opened my eye to show her I was all right. "Oh, no," Jazz cried in mockery. "What have I done? Can you ever forgive me?"

"Of course I'll forgive you, Jasmine," Vlad said, suddenly appearing. Is he trying to expose himself to her? I know he hasn't. He was pretending that I didn't know Jazz. "You've proven your loyalty once and for all."

I opened my eyes, waving at him as I sunk through the ground. I could hear Vlad scream after Jazz declared: "Guess again, Froot Loop!"

"Oh," Vlad declared, infuriated. I waited patiently below his feet. "So that's how it's going to be. Have you forgotten that with a push of a button I can end your resistance once and for—Oh, cheese logs." Vlad moved that remote just in my reach so I snatched it. What's better, he started looking through the bleachers as if he had dropped the remote. I turned invisible, my glow disappearing. When Vlad got close enough, I shot him in the face.

"You-You tricked me," Vlad stuttered once realization had dawned on him. I floated above the broken bleachers. She did hit him hard. "Both of you!"

"Barely," I scoffed. "Oh, no! What have I done," I mocked. "What was that?" I chuckled.

"Jazz, no, don't, please," Jazz mocked my phrase. We both started laughing.

"Oh, you think you know everything," Vlad began. That's my cue. I phased Jazz out of the suit from behind but she showed me a small post-it note. I inwardly chuckled. This is perfect. "Well, tell me this, girl. Did you expect this? Surprised," Vlad laughed. We had already left, I phasing us through the ground. That was the only way out. By now, Vlad would have read the note. I pushed the self-destruct button. "Oh, butter nuts!"

We boarded the Specter Speeder, ready to go home. I powered down, my pajamas still in place. Jazz laughed, "Couldn't you have changed?"

"I was worried," I said, walking to the back as Jazz started to fly us home. I opened the closet that had our clothes inside. "I thought you had gone after Skulker but instead you went after the worst one of all."

"I really messed up, huh," Jazz asked me. I slipped the pajama top over my head.

"No, it was I who messed up," I sighed. "You really can help. I'm sorry I didn't realize that in time." I pulled my bottoms off, putting on my pants. I still had my underwear on even though it was bedtime. I've been leaking some disgusting liquid from my sensitive area.

"But just because I can help doesn't mean I should. Ghost hunting's your thing, Danny," Jazz sighed. I leaped over the back of the chair, landing beside her. "I'll always be there for you but in different ways."

I wrapped my arm around her side, "Then consider yourself a reserve member of Team Phantom."

"Don't you need to go fight Ghost X," Jazz asked, "I mean Skulker. I could totally cover for you."

"Nah," I sighed content. "I'd rather ride home with my big sister, if that's okay." She smiled at me, "Besides, I'm sure Mom and Dad are enjoying their alone time."

"Where do they think you are," Jazz asked me, a soft smile on her lips.

"Skulking," I chuckled. "I messed up and mentioned Skulker. I was afraid I would have to go ghost and I was right but for the wrong reason. Plasmius is really strong."

"You're stronger," Jazz smiled.

I nodded, "I am." I am stronger than Vlad and that means I can live without him.

O_O

The weekend blew by and when I returned to school on Monday, things were weird. They definitely didn't forget about what happened Friday and I'm not talking about what I did to Jazz. The kids treated me with a little more hesitancy and few wanted to be around me. I wasn't asking for trouble either. I was just being my normal self. I had some time over the weekend to help me relax. My nausea had reduced greatly but the bouts of dizzy spells were still going strong. I learned if I stood up slowly and prevented flying (or falling) in strange positions, I could minimize that as well.

Jazz's friend Amber was right, though. Jazz nearly took off anyone's head for looking at me weird but those numbers were few. Too many had remembered my own reaction on Friday. The National Guard was far from being called but it was close on their minds.

Monday night, I met with Dr. Richardson. I was apprehensive about our joint session tomorrow at the house because of what had happened. I didn't want to see Vlad at all. When I see him, all I end up doing is getting back with him. While it hasn't been made official, we were once again together before Friday night. We just broke up after an unofficial make up.

So Dr. Richardson done me a huge favor. She would tell Vlad tomorrow about us being broken up. I would face him as soon as I could without falling in that trap but I needed to take care of myself first. That's the one thing I've learned through my pregnancy. I need to take care of myself. Taking care of me takes care of Lilly.

I would still see Dr. Richardson but it would be lowered down to once a week. To prevent Vlad from finding out my schedule, I would have any time to drop by: twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week. She gave me her home address and I knew where she worked. She even gave me all her contact numbers in case I needed to talk. I was ready to put this relationship behind me and she was ready to help me.

O_O

Tuesday and Wednesday were just like any other day. Nothing huge happened. They were just my average days. Thursday I had an appointment with Dr. Reynolds and I was ready for it. I had a list of symptoms the length of my arm. I was ready to discuss these things with her.

I waited in the waiting room, my head covered with the magazine as I waited to be called back. It never failed; when I arrived, I was the next to go back, no matter who was here first. However, I didn't worry about going first. I kinda hoped she'd alter the way things usually go. Dash was waiting in the waiting room, not three chairs from me. I kept my head diverted away from him, covering my head completely with the magazine. Finally, Dr. Reynolds came to the door. "Come on back, Danny."

I stood up, moving slowly away from Dash. But I could taste it (and it made me sick). "Fenton?"

I shuttered. "Fenton," Dr. Reynolds declared in shock. I dropped the magazine, shuddering.

"Hi," I said, more to Dr. Reynolds. Her eyes were huge.

"Boy, you just can't catch a break, can you?"

"What are you doing here," Dash asked in shock.

"You know," I shrugged. "Just the usual."

"Come on," Dr. Reynolds declared. "Does Elaine know about this?"

"Let's talk in private," I replied. "This is bad!"

"Why," she asked me, confused.

"Dash can tell my mom I'm here," I said in a hushed voice.

"What was that," Dr. Reynolds replied. I guess I was speaking Halfa tongue again. I repeated my last sentence. "Well, what's the harm?"

"Besides my mom shutting this place down," I asked. "Mom could bring in the militia and this town wouldn't stand a chance. You don't understand. My mother is the second most powerful person in this country… maybe this world!"

"Oh," she brushed it aside. "All children believe that. Why didn't you tell me you were the Fenton's boy?"

"Because you don't understand," I cried. "If Dash tells my mom, we're screwed!"

"Okay," she sighed. "You're too stressed. Take a deep breath."

I took a calming breath but my gut was still in knots. This was bad. If Mom found out… I would be skinned alive! "I guess there's no good that can come from worrying about it," I sighed. I just have to take it day by day.

"That's right," she said. "There's certainly no good that will come to your daughter."

I took another deep breath. "I've been experiencing dizziness."

"How frequent," she asked me.

"All the time," I groaned.

"When you stand up quickly? When you stay on your feet too long? When," she asked me.

"All the above and then some," I replied. "If I stand up slowly or prevent myself from being in an unnatural position, then it isn't as strong but I still experience it. I never had any vertigo before."

She walked over to me, putting on some gloves. "Remove your shirt," she ordered of me. I took my shirt off, standing up. She started to feel my abdomen. "I can feel the uterus." She started to gently push around my navel. "It's still on schedule for your due date but you are a long way away from looking it. The biggest weight gain you've had was due to the ballooning of your uterus. You need to gain at least ten pounds."

"I'm eating all I can," I breathed out.

"Is that tender," she asked me.

"No," I answered. "I just don't know what else to do! I don't think I can eat any more!"

"Then maybe I should hospitalize you," she said, more to herself.

"What good would that do," I said, crossing my arms. I winced at the pain that went through my nipples. "Ow, what was that?"

"Are your breasts tender," she asked me, more excited. "Your areolas look darker than they should. Have they always been this color?"

"My what," I asked, confused.

"The dark patch of skin around your nipples," she answered me. I looked down.

"I can't say," I said, staring at them. I could see how they were two-toned. Small blotches stood out on the lighter colored background. "Why are they sensitive?"

"They're gearing up to feed that little girl," she said, smiling. "They should have grown fuller and heavier, they should have been tender though now it should be lessening, you should have developed a network of blue lines as the blood increased and the lubrication glands should have opened up."

"Well, they're tender and the blue lines have went from my thighs to my abdomen," I explained. I showed her where both the bottom and top of my abdomen were covered with these blue lines. "I noticed them last week. The lines disappeared just before I found out I was pregnant."

"Have you noticed your breasts growing fuller or heavier," she asked.

"How should I know," I asked. "They've always been the same size to me. It's not like I weigh them."

She cupped her hands around my breasts, showing how they aren't exactly taut anymore. They were a far cry from sagging but they weren't the same. "I'd say that's a yes."

"What's this lubrication stuff," I asked, swallowing the lump in my throat. All this time and I have been having symptoms of my pregnancy without even knowing it.

"They're little glans that open up on your breasts and make it more easier for baby to suckle," she explained. "They may look like goose bumps to the untrained eye."

"Oh, my God," I said, covering my face. "For a few days, yes, I noticed them. I stopped paying attention to them. I just thought it was my high temperature reacting to the warm of the spring."

"Well, your breast changes have occurred. I suspect your breasts will continue to develop until you deliver."

"Great," I sighed. "I still don't know how I'm going to hide a protruding belly!"

"You're lucky," she explained. "With your BMI, your muscle tone and how far along you are, you shouldn't be able to hide it now. Of course, that also means your baby is malnourished."

"I'm trying," I sighed.

"Let's check your blood pressure," she said, grabbing a cuff. She slipped it over my arm. "Your blood pressure may be low due to all the blood going to the baby. That's a common cause of dizziness for mom's. Have you been drinking enough fluid for your activity level?"

"I've drank tons of water," I gasped. It's more like in one sitting, but I always make an effort to drink ten cups in a day… usually at night. That causes me to run to the bathroom before my alarm goes off.

"Have you been monitoring your blood sugar," she asked me as the cuff expanded.

"Not really," I sighed. "I've just been monitoring how much sugar I take in."

"Good but you still need to check," she replied.

"But it's so hard," I cried out.

"Stay calm," she ordered me.

I breathed out. "Do you know how hard it is to check your blood sugar when you heal on impact? Not easy! The one time I did try, I used a kitchen knife. I still couldn't do it! The monitor said error!"

"I'll check it," she sighed. The monitor displayed my blood pressure. "Three twenty-eight over one-sixty-two. Pulse one seventy-seven. I'm right. It is a little low." She opened up one of her drawers and pulled out a diabetes testing kit from twenty years ago. That was the only way to test my blood sugar—to draw blood out and do the chemical testing. It'd take a while. "So, have you had any more issues with blood flow? I've seen the varicose veins."

"What kind of issues does increased blood flow have," I asked. I knew varicose veins were made from increased blood flow.

"Usually constipation or hemorrhoids," she explained.

"Yes," I sighed. "I was wondering why it was suddenly harder to go to the bathroom." I lowered my head, "I was starting to think that it was from all the food I was eating."

She chuckled, "Not quite."

A knock came to the door, "Dr. Reynolds," a woman came inside. She was from the front desk. "We have a problem."

"Not while I'm with Danny," she declared.

"It's about Danny," she said in a small voice. "You might want to put your shirt back on, honey. I know you don't want her to know."

"Oh, no," I breathed, grabbing my shirt. Mom was here. I just knew it.

"You want to leave," she asked me.

"And what," I declared. "Give her the chance to shut this place down. Just, please, don't mention Vlad or the baby to her and don't tell her I'm the ghost boy. I'm begging you!"

"I won't," she smiled. "You're here for a check-up, you came here after you were injured and I made you see a therapist. Deal."

"Deal," I said. "It'll fit in with my night job."

Dr. Reynolds had time to put everything away before that door ripped open. Mom grabbed me by the arm and ripped me away from Dr. Reynolds. However, the motion made me sway.

"Don't yank on him," Dr. Reynolds declared. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine," I said, putting my hands on my knees. Breathe in through your nose and out through your mouth, I reminded myself.

"Danny, what on Earth are you doing in this evil place," Mom demanded.

"It's not evil," I said, rectifying myself slowly. "I came over here one night when I got hurt in a ghost fight. Dr. Reynolds helped me heal and she was worried I would crack. I've been seeing a therapist but it wasn't until a few weeks ago that I started opening up."

"After I asked you to see one," Mom said, crossing her arms.

"Yeah," I said, putting my head down. "I figured if you wanted me to see one and my friends warned me about breaking down that maybe you guys were on to something. I started talking to her but there's nothing she can do. I have my responsibilities and there's nothing I can do about it."

"I demand to see his files," Mom said, looking to Dr. Reynolds. "And you are to never see my son again! You people do nothing but cause problems in this town. A child could be hurt but all they have to do is say they don't want any authorities involved and you have no choice but to allow it. How could you live with yourselves? How could you stand by and allow a child to be hurt and still not get help."

I looked away as Dr. Reynolds replied, "Because, at least that child is getting something. If it weren't for this place, they'd get nothing."

"If it weren't for this place, maybe they'd get justice," Mom declared.

"Please, Mom," I begged. "This place does do good," I said, looking in her eyes. "What could anyone have done? When I came in here, it was because of a ghost. Amity Park Memorial couldn't have done any differently."

"I'll have your license," Mom said, looking at Dr. Reynolds. "And the volunteers' too. I turned a blind eye but not anymore. This place is history."

"Mom, please," I begged.

"No," she retorted, her voice furious. She grabbed my arm, pulling me with her. "We're going home!"

My world started to spin again as Mom dragged me. Mom stopped pulling me but my world continued to move. "Danny," both Mom and Dr. Reynolds cried.

Dr. Reynolds tried to grab me but I was too strong. I crashed to the ground, unable to keep my balance.

"What did you do to him," Mom declared. I tried to come to my feet but it didn't help.

"Nothing," Dr. Reynolds declared. "Guys, Danny's down!"

I noticed several people coming inside. "Please, leave," another nurse deadpanned.

"That's my son," Mom declared. "You let go of my boy!"

"Danny's her boy," another nurse cried. I hope there's a lot of people here or I'm seeing double.

"Yeah," Dr. Reynolds replied. I was lifted into the air.

"At least he's gained some weight," I heard one elaborate.

"He hasn't gained any weight," Dr. Reynolds declared. "He's just growing stronger."

"What are you talking about," Mom declared. "Does everyone but me know what is going off with Danny?"

"Mom," I said, holding my head.

"Lay on your side," Dr. Reynolds said. After a moment, she continued, "Elevate your legs."

"Will this work," I asked. I felt silly lying like this.

"It should," Dr. Reynolds replied. "Just breathe deeply."

"What is going on here," Mom declared.

"I'm a little dizzy," I replied. "I'll be fine in a minute." And four months.

Finally, my world stopped spinning and I stood up slowly. "Sweetie, have you eaten today?"

"Yeah," I replied. "I've had five small meals today. I've had plenty to eat."

"What about his sugar," Mom said, looking to Dr. Reynolds. "Did you even think to check that?"

"I know what's wrong with him," Dr. Reynolds replied. "It's normal."

"Normal," Mom spat. "He's dizzy! That's hardly normal."

"It's understood," I remarked. I walked over to Mom, "Let's go home."

"My thoughts exactly," Mom replied.

"Thanks, Doc," I said. "I'm sorry I caused this mess."

"Don't worry about it, Danny," Dr. Reynolds replied. "If all we do is help you, then it's worth it."

**AN: Ut oh! You're about to witness more from Division G though I imagine you already understand how powerful it is. Check out the chapter companions, drop me a line and check out the poll on my profile page. Twelve chapters down, seven to go! It's getting close!**


	13. Chapter 13

**Disclaimer: I don't own Danny Phantom, this is true. It's owned by Nickelodeon, boo-hoo!**

**Warning: This story contains reference to rape, sexual content, male sex and pedophilia. If any of this disturbs you, please do not read.**

**Chapter 13: Decisions**

"Mom," I said, completely fearful. This isn't good. "I don't need any exams. I've already had one!"

"I don't trust them," Mom said. "So open up and allow me to take your temperature."

So you can see my 'fever' of one-eighty. No thank you. Sam! Tucker! Help! I'm in the basement! "I'm fine. I don't feel hot! I feel fine," I replied. However, with my mouth opening and closing to talk, Mom slipped the thermometer in my mouth. Oh no! Hurry! "Mom," I mumbled in worry. I tried to spit it out but Mom held it there.

"Sit still and behave," Mom declared. "Since you already know your temperature, you shouldn't be worried."

It's because I know my temperature that I am worried. "Yeah. I already know it so don't worry. I'm normal."

"Normal boys don't get dizzy," Mom retorted. "Oh all the nerve. It's normal!"

"She knows what she's doing," I defended Dr. Reynolds after Mom's mock-up of her.

"Mrs. Fenton, have you seen—oh, my God," Sam replied as she came in. "Hurry, Tucker!"

"What," Tucker gripped. "I'm coming, I'm coming—Oh, no!"

"Help," I spat as Mom held the thermometer in my mouth.

"Mrs. Fenton," Sam said, rushing over to us. "Why are you taking Danny's temperature?"

Cut the chit chat and blow that thing up, I ordered in my head. Tuck, it's connected to a computer! You can do this.

"On it," Tucker replied aloud. He pulled out his PDA and started tapping. The first sign of it working was the thermometer clicking. Finally, the wires started smoking and the monitor started going haywire.

"What in the world," Mom asked, taking the thermometer from my mouth. "What happened?"

"Who knows," I said, jumping off the table. "I have to start patrol. I'm staying at Sam's tonight. See ya!"

We three ran out as fast as we (humanly) could. We ran to TPHQ. "What the heck happened," Sam finally asked, breathing hard.

"Dash saw me at the clinic today," I said, gritting my teeth. "I think he called Mom but anyway, she knows about my involvement there."

"That can't be good," Tucker said, jumping on the couch.

I plopped down beside of him gently while Sam laid back on me. I was surprised when I became breathless. "Are you okay," Sam asked me.

"Yeah," I said. "My abdomen doesn't have a whole lot of room anymore!"

"Don't be ridiculous," Sam laughed. She rubbed my belly, "You got plenty of room."

_Hey_, Lilly cried. She started twisting in my uterus, throwing her arms and legs out.

"Could you not do that," I said, flinching.

"What is that," Sam said, moving her hand over my stomach slower. "I swear I feel something… moving in there!"

"Yeah," Tucker scoffed. "Like what?"

"I'd like to know that myself," Sam said, removing her hand reluctantly.

"It's probably gas or something," I said, lowering my head. "With all the extra food I've been eating, I've had some strange symptoms."

"So, what happened when Mom found out," Tucker asked.

"She freaked," I said, suppressing a belch. "Oh, man. Not again."

"What," Sam asked.

"Heartburn," I said, putting my fist to my chest. "This is getting ridiculous."

"Tell us about it," Tucker moaned. "What is up with you? You can't taste food. You can't get sick. Why can you get heartburn or cravings or have to pee all day long?"

"I don't know," I said, burping. I groaned.

"You have heartburn and gas at the same time," Sam asked me, surprised. "That's weird."

"Weird is my new norm," I said, leaning back. I closed my eyes, resting.

O_O

We went on patrol like normal but this time we stayed out longer. Since I've decided to give up on Vlad and not attending therapy regularly, I had nowhere to be. By ten-twenty, I gave up on sending Sam and Tucker back to HQ. By midnight, I had transformed into Phantom and wasn't planning on powering down until quitting time. I found it amazing how much fun Sam and Tucker had by staying out this late.

By two, Sam and Tucker were dragging. They have stayed up this late since they usually do it every night but they're not physically active. I've become accustomed to staying active for eight hours but Sam and Tucker haven't. Time to call it quits. "You guys ready to go to bed," I asked.

"It's only two," Tucker said, yawning. "Don't you usually stay out 'til three?"

"Normally," I admitted, "but I've been trying to get extra sleep. I quit early sometimes, you guys know that."

"True," Sam said, fighting a yawn. We started back towards HQ.

O_O

I couldn't believe all the changes my body has gone through since December. I could tell my waistline had really ballooned in the past month, I'm just lucky I've lost so much weight since I became half ghost. If I hadn't, I would be really showing. I dressed in my pajamas, exiting the bathroom. I don't know what I'm going to do for the next few months. The only thing I can think of is thank goodness I won't have gym in summer school.

"Goodnight, guys," I said, going into my separate bedroom. I climbed into bed, settling into sleep. However, something jarred me before I could fall asleep. Oh, no. Not now.

"Can we talk," Vlad said softly after he teleported in.

"Why can't you leave me alone," I cried quietly. "I can never deny you when you're here. This isn't healthy. We're not meant to be, Vlad! I'm sorry!"

"I just want to know what's gotten into you," Vlad said. "We were working on it and then suddenly I hear it from the therapist. You didn't even have the guts to tell it to my face."

"Because I end up back in your arms before the day's through," I said, exasperated.

"I just want to hear it from you," Vlad said. "You tell me what you want."

"I want the lies to stop," I said. "It's not you that I'm in love with. It's everything you bring: feeling, taste, magnetism. When it's you… I feel nothing."

"You love me," Vlad denied. "You're just confused."

"I'm not confused, Vlad," I said sadly. "For once, I've got a clear head." I turned over, "Goodnight, Vlad."

"Goodnight, Daniel," Vlad replied, teleporting out. I shed a few tears, trying to keep myself together. I could do this. I could survive this. A broken heart wouldn't kill me.

But then again, I knew I didn't have a broken heart. I was just missing a piece of me.

O_O

Friday began and we went to class. I glared at Dash as I came into the classroom. I know it was him who called Mom. He's the one who's caused this mess. I ignored the urge to slam him into a wall and moved to my desk. I wouldn't pick a fight with him. I've already exerted my power once this month and I wouldn't do it again.

By the time first period ended and we were in between classes, we started talking about the clinic. We were trying to figure out what Dash had to gain from ratting me out. "I think we can say one thing for sure," Tucker sighed. "Dash never expected this outcome." However, Dash walked by at that exact moment.

"What did you say, Foley," Dash said, turning on us.

"Nothing, Dash," I sighed. "Just leave us alone."

"Not so big without your soldiers, are ya, Dan," Dash said. Sam and Tucker's breaths caught in their throats as everything seemed to slow down to me.

"Don't call me that," I said, breathing through my nose.

"Why," Dash taunted. "Does it upset you?"

"Just, don't call me that name. I'm Danny or Fenton or Fentonio or Fentina or whatever the hell you call me. Just don't call me that," I said. I was in control. My voice was level.

"Well, if it upsets you that much, I think we've got another nickname," Dash said, crossing his arms. Sam and Tucker grabbed my arms, pulling me back.

"Come on, Danny," Sam said. "I know that look."

"Don't," I said, my voice finally getting an edge.

"What? Call you Dan," Dash smirked. "I'm liking this already."

"Danny," Tucker said, snapping my head to his. I thought I was in control. I might not be. "Danny, listen to me. We all know Dash can be a jerk and he would deserve this but you'll regret it. Come on, Danny. Snap out of it."

"Dash, leave him alone," Sam demanded, turning her purple eyes from me. "You do not want him this mad… at anything."

"Dan," Dash said, drawing it out.

I lost control. I was out of Sam and Tucker's holds in a matter of seconds, their gasps proving that it was unexpected. I grabbed Dash by his jacket, slamming him into the wall: "Don't call me that again, am I clear? I'm not Dan! I'm not him!"

"Danny," Sam and Tucker declared. I could feel this tugging on my arms but it was so subtle. I noticed the bricks falling behind Dash's back where I had him pressed up against the wall. Finally, I heard Dash gasping for breath when I noticed how tightly I had him pinned. I dropped him, Dash falling to the floor. I brought my hands out to examine them. Was I Dan now?

"No," Sam said, turning me to look at her. "You would never turn into that monster. You're Danny and don't you forget it."

"Did I say that out loud," I heard myself ask. I felt so far away.

"I just know you that well," Sam said, her eyes tearing up. "You're not Dan. You never will be."

"Thanks," I said, my voice soft. "You guys want to skip?"

"Yeah," Tucker said, smiling softly. "I could work some more on the nobilities if you feel like it. It might take your mind off things."

"Yeah," I said. I turned to Sam. I could feel myself becoming more in control. "You feel like it?"

"Let's go," Sam smiled at me. We walked away, leaving Dash scrambling to his feet, holding his throat and staring at us in shock.

O_O

We had worked on the nobility assignments over the past week but we were still so far away from making those choices. We were through with all the citizens of the castle and all that remained was making the lordships official. We had crowned less than a percent of the citizens and record keeper was frank with us, telling us it would be a long process. I was in no hurry to crown someone or pass them up. I wanted to make the best-informed choices.

After spending the morning and afternoon making choices, we went out for patrol. We hadn't been home for more than a day and Sam and Tucker were acting like they wanted to stay out again. Tucker called Mom Number Two and she agreed to let Tucker stay an extra night but Mom was less easygoing. She wanted me to come home.

"What do I do," I groaned as we walked down the road. I estimated we had another three ghost attacks to get through before curfew. Sam and Tucker could stay out all night tonight but I had that little problem about my secret. "I've either got to be slashed by Ectoranium or steal the Plasmius Maximus."

"You don't think we could do anything else," Tucker said. "Maybe I can reprogram the thermometer. Make the blood pressure kit report it as normal."

"There's not enough time for us to practice," I replied. "If you can't do it, I don't want to find out when my temp reads one-eighty."

"Danny's right," Sam said. "It would be bad."

"I guess I've got to break into Vlad's house," I said, breathing deeply. I was more nervous about losing control with him than I was about losing my powers. I lost them two times a week for several weeks. I'm not too concerned about that.

"Where does he even live," Sam asked, confused.

"I can take care of that," I said, taking a large breath. I wouldn't want them to be there anyway. This could end badly.

"We're not letting you face him alone," Tucker cried. "Let us take the Specter Speeder."

"And what," I asked, "get caught before I can have my powers taken away."

"I don't like this," Sam said. "He could use this to his advantage. We can't trust Vlad."

"I know," I sighed, "but my choices are limited." I looked to my watch. "Meet me in my changing alley," I said, transforming. I flew into the sky, fighting back the bile.

O_O

I knew my chances of sneaking around were shot the minute I felt him. If I could feel him, I know he can feel me. My only chance was to grab it and get out. I phased into our old room and opened the closet. I started reaching for the box that held my tutoring guides on the top shelf. However, before I had my hands on the device, I could feel him directly behind me.

"Don't I even deserve a hello," Vlad said softly.

"I don't want to fight," I said, forcing myself to focus. I grabbed the Plasmius Maximus, "I'm just going to borrow this."

"What for," Vlad asked. I turned around, finding him in his robe. He wore nothing but a pair of pajamas under it and my proof was his bare chest.

"None of your business," I said, diverting my eyes.

"You're stealing my property," Vlad said. "I think it's my business."

"I'll return it," I sighed. My eyes went back over his chest. I wanted to reach out and hold him but I kept my priorities in check. I could avoid disaster for a few more years.

"Are you still persistent in your decision," Vlad asked in a small voice.

"Yes," I said, feeling the hormones swirling in me. I was on the verge of crying and if I didn't get out of here, I was going to lose this battle. "I need to go. Sam and Tucker are waiting for me."

"Come back," Vlad practically begged. "I miss you."

"I miss you too," I admitted before I knew what I was saying. But I couldn't help but wonder if I really did. Am I really worse off than I was before?

"Come home," Vlad said. "Let's just forget about this. You know that I would never hurt you."

"I can't," I said, my voice breaking. "I've got to go."

"Fine," Vlad said, stepping closer. A tear slipped out of my eye as I felt the wall crumbling again. Forget the egg; the wall is crumbling and all the kings horses and all the kings men couldn't rebuild Danny's wall again. Vlad leaned in and I didn't have the strength to pull out. His lips graced mine and I returned the kiss. It started out slow but it eventually grew into one of passion. I finally jumped him, wrapping my legs around his waist. Vlad floated us upstairs.

O_O

"Danny," Sam and Tucker called excitedly as I touched down in my alley. I was still shaken from what I did. "Are you okay? What happened?"

"Exactly what I was afraid of," I said, my voice soft and broken. I hated this game of merry-go-round we played. I was ready to give up this pointless game but that damn magnetism refused to release me. I couldn't deny him as long as we were together. I had no free will.

"Danny, you don't look so good," Sam said. "Did you get the invention?"

I brought it into view, "Yeah," I said. "I'll be okay after some sleep."

"How do we operate it," Tucker asked, taking the device.

"Jab it in my side," I explained.

Tucker touched the thing to my side but I forgot how much it can hurt. It's been a few weeks since I've been electrocuted with the device so I screamed the same way I did through DALV. Sam and Tucker freaked out, Tucker trying to cease the assault. "Are you okay? You didn't mention it would hurt!"

"Sorry," I said, breathing hard. "I forgot how much it hurt that day."

"No wonder you were so afraid," Sam said. "Alone with Vlad after that. I would be too."

"I was more afraid of facing him without my powers," I said, looking down as I relived the memory. Vlad had raped me without any powers and I had to wait six hours for my injuries to heal. I nearly bled to death waiting for my powers to come back.

"Let's go," Tucker sighed. "Hopefully, this will satisfy her."

"Hopefully," I breathed.

O_O

Mom put me through the ringer when I came in. The one thing I didn't count on was how weak I was now that my powers weren't there to replenish me. I tired easy and I couldn't do all the things I normally could. I was five months pregnant after all. I just didn't look it exactly.

Mom let us go to 'Sam's' and we went back to HQ. My powers were due back in ten to twenty minutes but I didn't know if I wanted them to come back. I had raided the fridge in the past three hours. I think Dr. Reynolds was right. Nutrient supplements wasn't the same thing as food so I was experiencing nausea and indigestion with the lack of food in my stomach.

"How much longer," Tucker asked me.

"Less than thirty minutes," I replied, wolfing down a box of Fig Newton's. I had eaten a bunch of junk and I knew this wouldn't do well for my figure.

"Maybe we should zap you again," Sam said hesitantly.

"What," Tucker declared as I looked at her with understanding. "Did you not remember what that did to him?"

"It's also given him an appetite," Sam said with a grimace. "Steep price but it's a good payoff." She looked to me.

"I've been thinking the same thing," I said softly. "If it weren't for the fact that the nighttime ghosts are out in full force, I'd be all for it." I looked to them: "Maybe I should do it after school and before patrol."

"The night shift is almost over, Danny," Sam defended. "It's almost three now."

"On the weekends, the night shift can go until day," I said simply. I've been out from dusk to dawn before.

"Yeah, well I think your appetite is making that decision for you," Sam said. "You'd probably eat a cow if I put her in front of you."

"I probably would," I nodded. "I guess. Zap me."

"Are you sure," Tucker asked, wincing.

"Yeah," I replied. "Hit me."

Sam picked up the device and touched it to my side. I gasped as it took my powers away but I managed to hold in the scream. Suddenly, my hunger ten folded. I guess with my powers returning, I was becoming less hungry again. I went into the kitchen and started grazing.

"At least you are able to eat well," Tucker grumbled.

"Hold up, mister," Sam said, pulling me away from the cabinet. "You've had enough junk food. I don't want you to fill yourself up with empty calories."

"I don't care what I fill myself up with," I said, snatching a bag of chips. I opened them up and started munching on the lime and vinegar.

"Well, I do," Sam said, grimacing at me. She started to shift through the cabinet, removing sustainable food. "We'll do some cooking together."

"And I can nibble," I asked through a mouthful of chips.

Sam gave me a dirty look, "Swallow before you speak next time."

I swallowed my bite, "Is that a yes?"

Tucker laughed, "I'm never seen Danny this way before. Even before the accident, he never ate like this."

"Think of how little he eats," Sam said, dumping some packets of sauce on the island. She returned to the kitchen, digging around in the fridge.

"That's just it," Tucker remarked. "He's been eating four to five small meals for more than a week now. Should he be this hungry?"

"I'm okay," I said, dropping the bag of chips on the counter in the kitchen. I opened the refrigerator and removed the bottle of apple juice. "I'm just eating because I can taste."

"And lord have mercy on an apple around him," Tucker remarked despite my attempt to calm him down. "No apple shall go uneaten!"

Sam laughed, slightly disturbed, "He even ate a rotting apple."

I removed the jug from my lips, replacing the cap and putting it back in the fridge, "It wasn't completely rotten. It just had a few bad spots on it."

"I'm sure if you could taste, you would have spit it back out," Sam said, placing some groceries on the counter.

"What are we making," I asked.

"A casserole," Sam said. "Let's get busy."

"Are you eating meat or am I eating vegetables," Tucker asked.

"Both," Sam said. "We'll both make sacrifices."

Tucker picked up a stem of broccoli, "For Danny."

Sam removed a package of round steak, "For Danny!"

O_O

We went to bed way too late but it was cool. The rays of the sun were starting to cut through the sky when we turned in. It was in the afternoon when we went to the castle. Sam and Tucker desperately wanted to see the castle in its prime but I just wanted to finish the work. I still don't see why it's my responsibility to care for this place just because I beat Pariah. I've defeated multiple ghosts (sometimes multiple times, case in point: Boxy) and I've never been responsible for their haunts. However, because Pariah had claimed himself King of All Ghosts, I 'conquered' a kingdom. I get the explanation, I just don't see the point.

We accomplished a lot today and I ate all day long. I never expected to be so hungry. As Tucker had said, I never ate like this before. Sam kept taking my powers though she only asked for my opinion that one time. Seeing me eat as much as I have, Sam has been determined to 'balance' my appetite. I don't know if that is possible.

When six o'clock came around, we went on patrol. However, shortly after beginning, my parents arrived. Mom found it strange how we walked around with a tracker this time but I still didn't have my powers so I had no ghost sense.

"What are you guys doing here," I asked, drinking a warmed cup of apple cider. I had a slight jacket on because I wasn't intolerant to the weather any more. I wanted my powers back for this trip but Sam still refused.

"I haven't seen you in two days," Mom replied. "You came in last night but you've been at Sam's since yesterday afternoon."

"We'll be home Monday," I replied. "We've just been hanging out."

"And Pamela and Jeremy have been fine with this," Mom asked, unconvinced.

"They don't know," Sam replied. "Our house is pretty big."

"You kids should come home," Dad replied. "You've been out long enough."

"But we don't have curfews at Sam's," Tucker whined.

"Nice," I said, my voice low. "We just enjoy the alone time. Jazz has finally allowed us some alone time."

"Yeah, where is she," Mom said. "I haven't seen her in a couple days either."

"What," I asked, freaking out.

"One minute," Tucker replied, typing on his PDA. "She's at the theater."

I sighed, "I was afraid she ran off like she did last week."

"I still don't know what happened," Mom grumbled.

"Or how you found her while you were skulking in the basement," Dad said, pouting.

"I got that," Mom said, crossing her arms. "Danny wasn't in the basement!"

I chuckled, "Well, you two can go home. We'll see you Monday after school."

"You're going to stay the night at Sam's on a school night," Mom said, turning in my direction.

"Please," I asked.

"Call me when you go to bed," Mom said, turning away. "Come on, Jack. Maybe we can spot the ghost boy."

"And tear him apart molecule by molecule," Dad asked, excited.

"Sure," Mom declared. "After we subject him to inhumane experiments!"

I shivered, "I don't think I'd go ghost after hearing that if I had the chance!"

"I don't blame you," Sam said, picking up where she left off. "Are there any ghosts around, Tuck?"

Tucker hummed as he scanned his PDA, "Not yet. I think one'll be coming out soon, though. There's a higher level of ghost energy around the Fentonworks." He lowered his PDA to his side, keeping up with us through large strides. "I just don't know about that. Mom didn't sound like herself."

"What are you implying," I asked, peeking over my shoulder. Mom and Dad were in the RV now, preparing to leave.

"I don't think we were meant to hear that," Tucker said softly. "Mom might have said it loudly, but it sounded more sarcastic than genuine."

"You're just in denial," I said, sighing. I wished he were right.

"Just like you're scared," Tucker said, keeping our pace.

"Are we really going to stay at HQ until Monday," Sam asked me.

"I figured that's what you guys wanted," I said, looking to her.

I was about to continue when they cut me off, "We do!"

"Okay then," I laughed. I would rather them be at home at night so I won't have to worry about the nighttime ghosts. I won't allow Sam to shock me before the nighttime shift starts. I'll have to be shocked again in an hour to remain ghost-free.

O_O

Sam surprised the hell out of me at seven o'clock. I was not expecting that shock when it came so that made me apprehensive as ten o'clock loomed. I did not want to be out here defenseless if a particularly bad ghost attacked. Even though I would be safest from Invincible without powers, he knows Sam and Tucker associate with me and that could put them in danger. I needed my powers though I would just rather leave them be. Unlike Tuck, I'm not convinced Mom was sarcastic.

As it got closer to ten, I kept my hands in the ready position. I kept my eye on Sam, watching for an indication she was going for the Plasmius Maxmius. Finally, I saw her hand go for her backpack. "I want my powers to come back now, Sam."

"What," Sam asked, holding the device in her hands. "Danny, haven't you enjoyed this time?"

"Of course I have," I said. "I'll probably allow you to take them away once we get off patrol but I don't want to be out here without that added protection."

"We're Team Phantom," Tucker scoffed. "How much more protection do we need?"

"You guys don't know the nighttime ghosts like I do," I replied. "Sure, you guys stayed out Friday night, but it was an average night that night. I don't feel comfortable being without powers."

"I'm just worried about taking your powers away while you have powers," Sam said, grimacing. "It seemed not to hurt if your powers were already gone."

"Is that why you've been taking my powers away," I asked, suppressing a chuckle. "Sam, I was just surprised when you took my powers away. It feels the same way no matter if I have my powers or not."

"So you suppressed your pain the rest of the times," Tucker said, looking at me disappointedly. "You should have told us."

"It's not that bad," I smirked at him. "I've had worse."

"Okay," Sam said, tucking the Plasmius Maxmius back in her pack. "Have it your way."

"Thanks," I smiled. We continued walking along.

O_O

It was almost three when I felt the Ectoranium. "Unbelievable," I cried as I transformed. I had kept my transformations minimal. I didn't know if Mom and Dad were still out so I didn't want to take the chance of being caught. Unless they're using a ghost scanner, I don't show up as a ghost so long as I'm in my human form. Mom and Dad had immuned my human blood but there was nothing they could do to protect my ghost form (like that's what they'd want to do anyway).

"What," Sam asked.

Tucker, on the other hand, locked eyes with me. "It's him, isn't it? Invincible!"

"Yeah," I said, grunting from the Ectroranium as it closed in around me. "I don't reckon you guys would leave, would you?"

"You know the answer to that," Sam snapped, removing her pack. She removed her pencil box, swinging the bag over her shoulder again.

Tucker was studying his PDA intently. "He's twelve hundred meters away."

"You're giving me a countdown," I asked in shock.

"Keep counting," Sam said. "Maybe we can learn how the Ectoranium affects him."

"I know how Ectoranium affects me," I barked. "Badly!"

"But does it affect you differently when there's difference in distance," Sam stated.

"Fine," I said, clenching my teeth. "I just wished you guys weren't here."

"Danny," Sam and Tucker barked. "Bad wish! Very bad wish!"

I looked in their direction, bashfully, "Oh, right. I definitely don't wish that!"

"Still not helping," Tucker barked. "Nine hundred yards."

Okay, Fenton, it's time to take this bastard down. No more second guessing. No more slacking. It's time I destroyed him once and for all!

"He's picking up speed," Tucker remarked. "Five hundred yards. Three hundred yards."

"He's found me," I remarked. "I always wondered why he can practically sneak up on me. He comes into my radar slow but picks up speed when he finds me."

"He's almost here," Tucker said, his voice weak. "Are you sure you want to do this?"

"Oh, yeah," I said, looking to the sky.

"Fine night, isn't it," Invincible said.

"It was," I retorted. "I haven't seen you in a while!"

"I don't like playing with my food," Invincible remarked. "Nor do I like toying with my victims."

"I'm not your victim," I declared. "Never have and never will be!"

"Children, unless you want to see your friend die, I suggest you to leave. I'm not here to chat this time and I'd hate to expose the young lady to the horrors of obliteration."

"Why," Sam said, extending a weapon. "I'm looking forward to yours."

"You've hurt Danny enough," Tucker declared, tossing his backpack down. He extended a weapon I hadn't even noticed he had. "It's time we put an end to this!"

"Neat trick," Invincible smirked. "But you're just children. What do you expect to do to me?"

"You'll see," Sam said, looking to Tuck. "Ready?"

"Ready," Tucker said.

"No," I declared. "You guys are not going to get-."

A shot blasted from Tucker's bazooka first, whizzing past me. Sam's Ecto-launcher went next, a large blast shooting Invincible from the sky. "This isn't up for discussion. Either you can get in our circle or stay there. The choice is yours," Sam declared.

I flew down beside them, taking my position. "At least this way, I can provide shelter." It used to be this position was only used when we were surrounded. However, we learned the hard way that it was best to maintain this position because a ghost can easily sink through the ground in one place and attack you from another. The only issue was under your feet. Mom and Dad have several inventions for that but they prove impractical in battle. You never know when you need to change positions.

Rapid fire came from Tucker's position and Sam and I turned in his direction. We both started firing along with Tucker, keeping Invincible back. Having no way of advancing on us, Invincible disappeared into the Earth again. We resumed the triad position.

I heard Sam gasp in anger. I turned in her direction as I powered up my fists. Both Tuck and I shot at the same time, throwing him off Sam. Sam aided us in the assault. Invincible's hands glowed as they transformed into a Ectoranium shield. The shots were useless. Sam let out a long whistle and we three separated. I formed a sword with my ectoplasm, "Go Ghost Stinger!"

Sam and Tucker took different positions to try to weaken him while I went after Invincible myself. Sam and Tucker had no way of knowing this would be a perfect way to make him retreat but I'm glad they thought of it. As long as they kept hammering him, Invincible had no choice but to keep the shield in place but if I started engaging with him one on one, then he would have the urge to transform his shield into a more implementing weapon. Either one he chose, I still came out a winner.

Invincible roared in frustration as he used the shield for protection but either floated up or sunk down to block my swings. Finally, he threw his arms out, sending me flying. I got nicked with his Ectoranium but Sam and Tucker both got perfect shots. Invincible flew backwards.

He came to his feet, his hands transforming into a much smaller shield and a sword. We started firing on him again but my right hand blasts were much weaker than my left hand blasts. The nick I received was already starting to affect my powers and I was in pain as it mixed with my ectoplasm. Sam and Tucker kept the blasts up so I didn't assume they knew about my injury. I may be wrong, though, because they've never allowed an injury to throw off the formation. If they ever got hurt, though, the formation would be blown to hell.

Invincible could block two attacks but we were too spaced apart for him to block three. The only weakness I've saw from him was his inability to create more than two weapons. That was the only thing we had going for us at the moment. Invincible would block two of the attacks but the third would hit him. Who got to hit him came in intervals. If he blocked Sam and Tucker's attacks, I would hit him. If he blocked Sam's and my attacks, Tucker would hit him.

He blocked Tucker's and my attacks, allowing for Sam to hit him. I noticed how even though we were firing rapidly, there were pauses. I checked Tucker's gun and noticed he had his on an eight. Glancing at Sam's, I saw it was the same for her. Boost the levels, I sent out to them. Keep firing. He'll make a mistake.

Sam and Tucker both increased the power and we started firing rapidly. Invincible swatted two the first time but only mine the second time. He was knocked back so he didn't have time to deflect the third fire. Once all three of us were hammering into him, Invincible was forced into a crouching position. I looked to Sam and Tucker, nodding my head. We advanced on him, allowing the blasts to get even stronger as we were right on top of him. Even if he thought of it now, he wouldn't have the strength to turn intangible.

We fired until Invincible didn't have any strength left. He collapsed, completely exhausted. For the first time in the three months I've known him, Invincible's glow was barely illuminated. I ceased my attack, holding up my hands. This was enough.

"Danny," Tucker complained. "He's weakened. Let's finish him!"

"And how does that make me any better," I asked, summoning the thermos to my side. I pulled it off my belt, sucking him inside. "I won't just put him back in the Ghost Zone. I don't know what I'll do with him, but I know I can't kill him and I can't release him. I guess I'll talk to Mom and Dad about it."

"You're going to tell Mr. and Mrs. Fenton you have a ghost," Sam asked me, in shock.

"Maybe they can give me something to contain him besides the thermos," I replied. Actually, maybe that could help me with Dan.

"I still say we destroy him," Tucker said, minimizing his weapon. "He wouldn't hesitate if that were you."

"Like I said, what makes me any better?"

O_O

As four o'clock came around, Sam and Tucker started slowing down. They were trying to help me capture a ghost but they were just too tired. I took the ghost by myself to prevent them from getting hurt. After slamming into a building and an electrocution, I finally captured him.

"Okay," I said, clapping my hands together. "Time for bed."

"Are you okay," Tucker asked me, looking ashamed.

"I'm fine," I replied. "That was just a bee sting." The nick on my right hand, otherwise, was not. It burned like crap and my powers had diminished. It wasn't just isolated to my right hand anymore.

"You should have stayed put," Sam said, standing up tall. I know the only thing keeping her up was the adrenaline. In a moment, she will drop like her adrenaline levels.

"And let you guys get hurt," I said. "Never. Let's go."

"I can't wait to become half ghost," Tucker sighed. "I just wish you'd let us do it before that mysterious illness."

"I can't take that chance," I said, walking over between them. I took them by the arms, lifting them in the air.

"I can fly myself," Sam protested.

"And chance you falling from the sky," I retorted. "Forget it!"

I phased them into the living quarters, letting them down. I powered down, discretely tucking my hands behind my back. It was easier to hide the nick in ghost form than it would be in human form.

"I guess we might as well get some sleep," Sam sighed. "I'd like to make that percentage complete a five today."

"Oh, God," I groaned. That meant we'd be at the castle all day tomorrow. I didn't protest though because what was the point. Avoiding it wasn't escaping it, it was only prolonging the process. I went into my bedroom to lay out my clothing. "You guys take your showers first. Goodnight."

"Goodnight," Sam and Tucker both replied. I went into my room, hearing Tucker tell Sam she could go first. Maybe I should have put three bathrooms in this place. I shut my door and pulled my shirt over my head. As I tossed it into the hamper, it stopped mid-throw.

"What the," I asked, confused. A blue swirl appeared in front of me, Clockwork emerging from it. "Oh, no."

"Afraid so," Clockwork replied. "He's been out for hours now but it's all right. He's frozen."

"Why didn't you-," I began to ask.

"You were with Sam and Tucker," Clockwork answered me, mid-question. "It'd be harder for you to fall back in to your routine once I removed you. You do want to keep the events of that day from them." It wasn't a question. He knew my answer already. "I know everything."

"Does that include my thoughts," I asked.

"Not exact quotes," Clockwork answered. "I'm not a mind reader. I just know how your thoughts affect you and the time stream."

"We flying or are we time-swirl-thing-ing," I asked, saying the last word slowly.

"I will teleport you through my time portal," Clockwork answered.

"You couldn't stop me mid-sentence there and—," I asked.

"It's annoying, remember," Clockwork said with a knowing smile.

"And I still think that," I replied with a smile. Clockwork smacked his time staff and we reappeared in the lab. "How did you-. Never mind." I grabbed a thermos from the cabinet. I would need to charge this one.

Clockwork slapped his staff again and we were in his tower. I summoned just enough energy to charge the thermos and the invention soaked it up. When I first did this, through my first fight with Lunch Lady, I had put way too much energy into the thermos. It elongated the Lunch Lady as she was sucked inside just like a black hole does in space. The more power you give these things, the more powerful they become. While more power might seem like a good thing, it also makes it more painful for the ghost. That's not such a good thing.

I pointed the newly charged thermos at Dan and sucked him inside. I handed it to Clockwork. "Is this going to be a reoccurrence?"

"I'm afraid so," Clockwork said grimly. "For the next foreseeable future, he will escape. However, with Dan, his future is becoming increasingly harder to see. With him outside of his time stream, my control over his future does not exist. I can only see the futures of those he effects."

"If you can't see his future, does that mean your powers won't work on him?"

"That is correct," Clockwork said as my eyes bugged out. "But that's still some time away. For right now, he's still within my powers."

"How is it that he will just escape your powers," I asked.

"His strength," Clockwork answered. "You are the most powerful ghost of all time. With the additional power that Plasmius gave, it made Dan immortal. Nothing can kill him."

"What about my daughter," I asked. "She's a mixture of Vlad and I. Doesn't that mean she should be on the same playing field?"

"Your children are not ghosts," Clockwork stated. "D.J. takes my place when I am obliterated. Your children are truly a new species."

"D.J.," I asked, surprised. "Obliterated?!"

"Yes," Clockwork answered. "Your future with Sam is still secure. It has to be. The war would be altered greatly without it."

"What war," I asked, confused.

"You'll see," Clockwork smiled. "It is time for you to leave now. I will see you again." Clockwork smacked his time staff and we disappeared from his tower. "Do not worry about the future, Danny. I have seen yours and it is beautiful."

"Thanks," I said, smiling softly. Clockwork smacked his time staff again, disappearing. "Bye, Clockwork."

O_O

I was in the kitchen when Tucker was the first one up. I had made myself breakfast hours ago but I knew they would be up soon. I still got a minimal of four hours of sleep even though I tried to increase that number. Tucker came into the kitchen and started preparing the coffee pot. "Have you not made any this morning," Tucker asked.

"No," I replied. "I can't have caffeine."

"Why not," Tucker asked me. He filled the decanter with water.

"Medical condition," I replied. "Dr. Reynolds says it's not good for me."

"Oh," Tucker said. "Can you smell it?"

"Yes," I smiled at him. I was mixing the pancake batter together while the griddle heated up.

"Good," Tucker said, yawning. "What time did you get up this morning?"

"Nine," I replied. "That's four hours." I spent an hour of that time staring at the ceiling but I'll include it in my sleep pattern. I wasn't active yet.

"I'm exhausted but I just can't sleep anymore," Tucker said. "I guess I'm getting used to the lack of sleep too."

"I wonder what time Sam will be up," I said, looking in the direction of her room. She was still sleeping soundly.

"She'll be up before noon," Tucker remarked. "I say she'll be up before the hour's up."

"I do too," I replied, agreeing. It was just after eleven. I stopped mixing the batter and turned the sausage and tofu links.

"Did you sleep well," Tucker asked me.

"Yeah," I said, my voice a little sharp. I had hoped for a dream last night. I guess Clockwork didn't mean I'd dream of it last night.

"Are you okay," Tucker asked me, grabbing a mug from the counter.

"Yeah," I said, putting the turner down and grabbing the measuring spoon. I emptied some of the batter on the griddle. "I just thought I'd have a pathetic dream last night."

"Why," Tucker asked me.

"I usually dream of something I have on my mind," I replied. "According to Grandpa, that's how the dreams work. He sells his dream power for money."

"Isn't that like against the rules or something," Tucker asked me, placing the mug beside of the pot.

"No," I replied. "All ghosts have powers so it's like a trade labor. The same way people sell muscle or brains, they sell power."

"I guess that makes sense," Tucker replied.

I put the batter down and picked up a tray with an assortment of berries and fruit. I dropped some minced apple on one and some blueberries and blackberries on the other two.

"Dude," Tucker chuckled. "What is with the apples?"

"I just like them," I replied, aggravated. I know I eat a lot of apples but do they have to keep asking me that. I checked the links, removing them from the pan.

"It's weird," Tucker said, turning back to the pot of coffee.

I heard a soft commotion in Sam's bedroom. I grabbed the spatula, checking the bottom of one of the pancakes. They weren't quite done. "Sam's up," I said to Tucker.

"Really," Tucker remarked, sitting down with his cup of coffee. I retrieved a skillet from the cabinet and sprayed it with a little canola oil. I poured the eggs I had scrambled before Tucker came into the kitchen in the pan.

"Good morning," Sam groaned as she came in.

"Good morning," we both replied.

"Sleep well," Tucker asked.

"Yeah," Sam said, stretching. "You boys sleep well."

"Yeah," Tucker said as I replied, "Yes."

"What's for breakfast," Sam asked me.

"Pancakes, scrambled eggs and links," I replied. "Your eggs are powdered." I flipped the pancakes.

"Thank you," Sam said. She suddenly gasped excitedly, "Coffee!"

"Danny says he can't have caffeine anymore," Tucker said, bringing his mug to his lips.

"Since when," Sam asked me, surprised.

"A few weeks ago," I replied. "Dr. Reynolds doesn't want me adding any more caffeine to my system."

"I don't think that would have any effect on you," Sam replied. "She couldn't possibly know about your high tolerance to outside forces. Ignore her."

"What," I asked, looking at her finally. "Dr. Reynolds knows about that!"

"How could she," Tucker replied. "You'd have to explain your ghost powers or have a really good excuse."

Oh. "You guys didn't understand," I said, fearfully. "When I told you that the clinic knows more about me than most do, I wasn't just talking about my busy lifestyle. They know about me being Danny Phantom."

"What," both Sam and Tucker declared.

"That day that I first faced Invincible," I replied. "They found out about my ghost half."

"And you never mentioned it," Sam declared. "I thought if someone found out your secret, you'd be a nervous wreck!"

"I came to terms with it," I replied. "I was a nervous wreck when I first found out they knew but I eventually accepted it."

"So total strangers know your secret but Mom and Dad don't," Tucker retorted.

"Total strangers don't know how to tear a ghost apart molecule by molecule," I retorted. "I know you want me to tell Mom and Dad the truth but what if something goes wrong. I don't know about you, but I don't want to bet my life on the fact they'll accept me."

"Well at least you're reluctant to bet your life on something," Sam said. She took another drink of coffee.

"I'm more reluctant than you believe," I commented, removing the pancakes from the burner. I added the minced apple and the berries like I done last time.

"Apples again, huh," Sam said, looking to Tucker.

"And it's completely normal," Tucker said sarcastically, taking another drink of coffee.

"I never said it was normal," I retorted. "What part of my life is normal?"

"True," Sam chuckled.

O_O

After breakfast, we went to the castle as planned and stayed until patrol. I managed to slip to the ghost hospital for my appointment during a break. I didn't wait for the results. I told the doctor I would get them later. I gave her my team phone number so she could contact me with any follow-ups. If she didn't need to have a follow-up, my next appointment wouldn't be until next month. This time, I scheduled it on a weekday. I actually scheduled it for eighth period on the twenty-fourth. I hardly stick around for that class anyhow.

Patrol was going as normal with no big threats. However, with tomorrow being school, I was slightly nervous about tonight. I kept telling myself all evening that Sam and Tucker wouldn't give me any problems about going back to HQ early but deep down, I knew how it would play out from the beginning. Sam and Tucker stayed out all night with me but that's not to say we wouldn't get any sleep. We returned to HQ around two-thirty. Sam headed for the shower while I went into the storage area. Tucker followed me.

"What are you doing," Tuck asked me.

"I was thinking," I said slowly. I was really nervous so I paused. "Instead of having three showers built into the HQ, why can't I create two more?"

"Where do you plan to put them," Tucker asked me. "Here?"

"I was thinking about it," I replied. "I can add more heaters here so it'll be warmer. I can also make it so that all the parts work without my powers. That way, someone can take a shower if I'm not here or if I'm asleep or something."

"You can leave your ectoplasm like that," Tucker asked surprised.

"Well, sure," I replied. "My ectoplasm isn't being recycled. Each time I fire an ecto-blast, I'm creating new ectoplasm."

"That's really cool," Tucker replied enthusiastic.

"Let's see," I hummed as I imagined a shower. I made it a double shower, with the heads facing each other. I made it look natural and was sure to smooth out all the bumps. Next I created the hinges of the doors and formed the sliding panes of glass. I designed the showers and placed them in their spots. At last, I designed the plumbing, connecting them to the hot water tank and the sewage.

"That is totally wicked, dude," Tucker said in awe. "Besides the color, it looks one hundred percent natural and you can explain that by saying it's painted!"

"Vlad was right," I said, reviewing my work. "The only limitation of this power is imagination!"

"Why did he show you how to use that power," Tucker asked me.

"When we were on the island, he still hadn't completed everything," I explained. "I had to form my own shower."

"He didn't have a bathroom," Tucker asked me, horrified. "What about the other use?"

"He didn't have one of those either… I guess. I didn't use the bathroom on the island," I said, thinking it over. I didn't eat much on the island. I ate sometimes, but I don't remember using the bathroom."

"You seldom do… did," Tucker said. "That was before you started eating all these meals though."

"True," I replied. I examined my shower, determining it to be operational. "Okay, now to test these puppies out!"

"I got the left one," Tucker called, removing his shirt.

"Knock yourself out," I said, removing my own shirt. I caught Tucker's lingering stare. "Something wrong?"

"It's just… man, Danny, you have been eating a lot."

"What," I said startled, looking to my waistline. The bump was no longer only visible from a side view. I had a small protrude. I stared at it in shock.

"Weird, huh," Tucker chuckled. "And it even looks a little like a pregnancy bump!"

"I should not have ate that much yesterday," I said, staring at my stomach in shock. I put on that much weight in twenty-four hours!

"I doubt it's all from yesterday, Danny," Tucker chuckled. "You've been eating frequent meals for two weeks now."

"But I've been throwing them right back up," I declared.

"Not all of it," Tucker brushed it aside. I slipped my shirt back over my back.

"Still, I think I'd rather be safe than sorry," I replied. "Talk to you later. And if there's anything wrong with the shower you notice, let me know as soon as possible."

"Okay," Tucker said, a little surprised. "Where are you going?"

"My room," I explained, disappearing from his sight into the living quarters. I went into my bedroom, removing my phone. I hated how late it was but this had me worried. Surly excessive weight gain couldn't be normal. Pregnant women just don't gain that much weight overnight!

O_O

"Danny, it sounds normal to me," Dr. Reynolds replied over the phone. "Sure, in most pregnancies, weight gain is gradual but yours is hardly normal. You're five months pregnant and just now starting to show. Most people begin these stages in their second and third month. You said you don't have any more symptoms, right?"

"Nothing that I can think of," I replied. "Still, I'd like to come in tomorrow… providing you have a clinic I can go to."

"Fat chance there," Dr. Reynolds replied, her voice holding a slight aggression to it. "The National Guard has surrounded the place."

"I'll take care of that," I said, gritting my teeth. "Can you meet me there in the morning?"

"Sure," she replied. "I don't know what good it'll do. We can't get in the clinic. Your mother has officially shut us down."

"Mom may be higher than me, but I have someone who's the boss of everyone. I can take care of that," I replied.

"Okay," she replied. "What time do you want me to meet you there?"

"The only time I can get away unless I skip class is lunchtime. Does eleven-fifteen sound okay," I asked.

"Sure," she replied. "I'll be there at eleven-twenty so you'll arrive first."

"Just show up at eleven-fifteen. I'll get there early so you don't have to be scared."

"I don't want to inconvenience you," she replied.

"You won't be," I said, a soft smile to my lips. This was my fault and now I'm going to fix it, whether it causes a war within Division G or not.

"Anything more," she asked me.

"No," I replied. "Thanks for taking my call and being so kind to me this late at night," I replied.

"Oh, it was nothing. You do more than enough for this town for me to deny you anything."

"Still, thank you. Goodnight."

"Goodnight," she said softly. I hung up the phone.

O_O

When morning came, we were rushing to get ready for school. Since we didn't have Mom there to cook for us while we were getting dressed, we had to get up earlier. Being true to my promise to increase my food consumption, I put in the extra effort.

I finished my shower first and now I was moseying around in the kitchen. I had three half English muffins in the toaster oven while I was cutting up some fruit. I was trying to eat healthy and keep the balance in my diet. Sam was the next one in the kitchen. My timer clicked on the muffins.

"I've got them," Sam replied. They don't know what I normally eat for my first breakfast so Sam was surprised to pull whole wheat English muffins from the toaster. "I'm impressed."

"Thanks," I smiled at her. I sprayed the pan with canola oil and cracked an egg in the pan. "This is what I usually eat for breakfast the first time around so I decided to make it for you guys. You don't have to eat it if you don't want to but I wanted to see what you thought of it."

"As long as my eggs are powdered, I'll be fine," she replied. "I will not support the breakfast tradition of slaughtering innocent chicks."

"I wouldn't force you to," I replied. I flipped the egg gently so not to bust the yolk.

"Good morning," Tucker greeted us.

"Good morning," we returned his greeting. "There's some crumbled microwavable sausage in the fridge if you want some, Tuck. I didn't make any meat this morning."

"No meat," Tucker declared in shock. "Danny, how can you have breakfast without meat!"

"I usually don't have meat until my second breakfast," I replied.

"Sometimes you don't eat it then," Sam smiled at me. "You had oats yesterday."

"Well, every meal isn't the same day to day," I replied. "This meal is the only one that doesn't change. This early in the morning, I can't make a decision so I pulled a recipe from the book and I've been making it for two weeks now. Well, Mom has."

"You have a book to help you eat right," Tucker asked in disbelief.

"Something has to help me," I replied. I removed my egg, laying it over my muffin Sam put on a plate. "Fried or scrambled, Tuck?"

"I'll have scrambled," Tucker replied. I pulled a second bowl from the cabinet and dropped three eggs in the bowl.

I scrambled Sam's and Tucker's eggs at the same time, getting the hang of multitasking. I emptied the pans on their respective plates, going to sit down. We ate in silence so we could get a move on. We wanted to prove we could do this on our own. Who knows, maybe Mom will start letting us live on our own every once and a while.

O_O

We were collecting our books for our English/History class when I heard footsteps coming behind us. I turned around to see if it was someone passing us or if someone was coming towards us. Dash, Kwan, Chris, and Tommy stopped right at Tuck's locker. Oh, why am I being punished?

"Where did you three go Friday," Dash asked.

"We had business," I said. "Now, push off!"

"Not this time, runt," Chris said. "I heard you three ganged up on Dash Friday."

"You heard wrong," I replied. "I beat Dash myself."

"You," Tommy scoffed. "His hands are the size of your head!"

"That just makes him bulky," I said, crossing my arms. "Not strong."

"Get lost," Sam retorted. "We don't want the stench to get in our clothes."

"Before we throw you out," Tucker said, crossing his arms as well.

"Big words for a tiny boy," Chris said, shrinking to Tucker's level. I wouldn't do that. I'd take the only advantage I'd have if I was Chris.

"Get out of my face," Tucker retorted. "And would it kill you to use some mouthwash?"

I laughed, remembering using that same pun on Walker. "You find that funny," Chris said, turning in my direction.

"No," I said, shrugging my shoulders. "At least not as funny as you clowns."

"Okay," Dash roared. "I was going to give you a chance to apologize but that time's come and gone. Now you'll pay!"

"Please," Sam scoffed. "You and what army?"

"I know you won't have an army," Tommy retorted. "No friends with big muscles to aid you here!"

"Who says I ever needed them," I scoffed. "I removed Greg myself from that class. He's a sophomore! I just called my guardsmen in to guard the door 'cause no one can teach and stand guard at the same time. Even I'm not that good."

"You're nothing good," Tommy roared. "And I'm going to prove it."

"I think not, little man," I replied. "Try not to hurt them, guys. Just escape," I added as Tommy took a step towards me. I held my ground as he advanced on me. Finally, he went to grab me but I took a turn-step to escape.

"Is that an order," Tucker whined.

"Not really," I replied as I crossed my arms, staring at a confused Tommy. "Just a good suggestion. I'd like to stay in school today."

"Come here, you runt," Tommy cried, running after me.

"Goodnight," I replied as I held my ground. Tommy took up a tackle position just like I predicted. I held my ground until he was on top of me when I dropped to the ground and scooted out from under him, standing up in a swift movement. Tommy hit the locker he planned on using against me, going unconscious.

"Tommy," Kwan said panicked. "How'd he do that, Dash?"

"He's a cowardly worm," Dash replied. "He ran while Tommy done something stupid."

"Or you guys are a bunch of idiots and we're better than you," Tucker said, smirking. "I'd go with that theory."

"You would, wouldn't you," Chris said. He came to stand in front of Tucker, towering over his short frame. It still didn't matter. Tucker was a damn good fighter. You don't have to have muscles or be huge to be a good fighter. He grabbed Tucker by the shirt, lifting him into the ground.

"I'm not that kind of boy," Tucker said, cracking a cocky grin. "I don't allow my dates to pick me up until at least our third date." Tucker used his boot to kick Chris in the knee, causing him to drop him. "So it's not an order," Tucker asked hopeful.

"Knock him out," I smirked, altering the saying to fit the mood. Tucker grinned widely, balling his fist together. He uppercut him, sending Chris back two or three foot. Chris landed in the middle of the hallway, catching the attention of everyone. The Dweebs being picked on wasn't anything unusual. Chris Olsen, however, landing in the middle of the hallway was something unusual.

"Someone going to attack me," Sam asked. "Or am I forced to sit this out because I'm a girl."

"You're going to sit this one out," I replied, walking over to her. "If anyone does come after her, they'll mess with me."

"Oh, come on, Danny," Sam complained. "You know I'm as good of a fighter as you and Tucker!"

"I know," I replied. "But I'd hope they'd have principals and if they don't, I'll teach them to them."

"I was going to leave her alone but I think now I'll try you," Dash replied. "Kwan, take out Techno-Geek and don't screw up like Chris did!"

"Are you sure," Kwan said uncertain. "It didn't look like Chris screwed up to me. Maybe we should leave them alone."

"They're Dweebs, Kwan," Dash scoffed. "What could they do?"

"Those kids," someone remarked, "a lot. I'd drop what you're doing unless you want to be expelled."

I looked up and to my surprise, the Regional superintendent of District thirteen stood before me. "Madam Superintendent," I said, surprised. "What are you doing here?"

"I've here for an evaluation to see if this school should be punished for such a dramatic drop in grades," she replied. "My bosses aren't happy with the results here, either."

"Well, I'll be sure to have a word with your bosses as well," I replied, walking away from Sam. She could handle herself anyway. It's not like she needs my help, especially not against the likes of Dash. "However, this school is staying place. If you try to shut it down, I will have your license."

"Sir, I assure you that this has nothing to do with you," she replied. "This school has a problem and I'd like to investigate."

"You have no jurisdiction here," Dash said, stepping forward. "Hasn't Governor Blagojevich alerted you."

"The Governor has asked me to leave this place be but I must say that the grades of this school has given me cause of concern. This cause of concern, young man, has made me consider not accepting the Governor's advice."

"Well, I say you accept my advice," I replied, keeping my voice respectful. "This school has seen a bad semester and it's doing all it can. If you push me, I will have you replaced with someone more cooperating."

"Mister Radar, unless I get that order, I will be investigating," the superintendent said. I couldn't blame her. I rarely did any business with her and in fact the Division G rarely did business with anything on a local level. We usually worked through the federal braches, like the US Department of Education or the senators. She is probably still unfamiliar with how this works.

"Radar," Dash asked. He chuckled, "His name is Fenton."

"Radar is my nickname," I shot at Dash. "I'm known more widely as Radar or Samuels's Radar as the President knows me."

"Now, please excuse me, sir. I need to speak with Principal Ishyama," she replied. She walked down the hall, heading for the main office.

"What is she even doing in this part of the school," Sam asked. "The office is right when you walk in the door."

"How did she know us," Tucker asked. "It's not like we've ever done any business with her."

"Samuels probably sent her a dossier," I replied, "and I'd say she wanted to see what this school was like before the Principal could initiate a perfect school syndrome effect. Many superintendents come in through the back to see what the place is like before their arrival is announced."

"Lucky for you, Fentoad, I have to go," Dash replied. "Come on, Kwan. We need to get Paulina and Star."

"What are we going to do," Kwan asked as they disappeared down the hall.

"Make things worse," I replied. "The last thing we need is for them to cause a scene."

"What are we going to do," Sam asked me.

I pulled out my phone. "Give her new orders," I replied.

O_O

Before lunch, I had the Superintendent of Illinois Board of Education in our humble little school. I couldn't let the Regional Superintendent shut Casper High down. There weren't enough schools in our small county as it were. I escorted the State Superintendent into the office, causing the secretary to stare at him in shock. "Is the Regional Superintendent around?"

"She's with Principal Ishyama," she replied. "I'll have them paged."

"You do that," the State Superintendent replied. Never in the history of Amity Park has two heavy weights been in one school. Actually, it may be never in the history of anywhere!

O_O

"Who paged me," the Regional Superintendent asked infuriated. I could see why she'd get upset but it wasn't in her best interest.

"I did," the State Superintendent replied. "What's going off?"

"Sir," she replied. She looked at me, "Was this your doing?"

"This is only baby steps," I replied. "I can get the President of the United States in this tiny town if you'd like."

"Normally, I would do this the generous way but seeing as you are messing with one of the bosses, I need to step in. This school will probably always be protected as long as a Fenton lives in this town. I suggest you leave before you get us all fired."

"But you do not understand what is going off in this town," the Regional Superintendent objected.

"None of you know what is going off in this town," I replied. "But this is my school and this is my town. I will not allow you to push it around." I don't allow the ghosts and I won't allow pushy superintendents.

"I know he's friends with the Secretary but I do not understand his authority," the Regional Superintendent declared. "Who is he?"

"All I know is I got the memo the same as you," the State Superintendent replied. "We are to do as he asks."

"This town is going through a hardship," I replied. They have no idea of the sacrifices I've had to make to keep the ghosts outside of the school. I'm talking about mowing over anyone in my way as soon as my ghost sense goes off. "We'll work through it and our grades will rise but we're in an adjustment period right now."

"I have seen nothing requiring an adjustment period," she replied. "These kids are just slacking! And those four students who walk around like they own the place. Especially the blonde haired boy! That's the adjustment period."

"Are you still challenging me," I declared. "Just go home and leave this school alone! I can't keep this up anymore!"

"Keep what up, young man," she asked me. She started out with respect, went to displaying authority but remaining polite and now she's just asking for trouble. I guess I still can't blame them but this is getting on my nerves. That's why I want to build a reputation of Division G without explaining the ghosts. People on the local level have no idea of the power we hold!

"I'm from a corporation called Division G," I started. "We're a branch of Homeland Security but before that, we were a part of the FBI. We specialize in strange occurrences… more particularly ghosts."

"Ghosts," she asked, startled. Oh, lord. We're about to be associated with the quacks.

"What are you talking about," the State Superintendent asked.

"We're paranormal ghost hunters," I explained. "There's a difference from what you've seen on TV and the real things. We're federally funded. Our government knows about the existence of ghosts. However, our school is constantly under attack from the ghosts. That's why we're failing."

"Okay, what is this," the State Superintendent asked. "I thought you were a friend of the Secretary of Education."

"Not particularly a friend," I replied. "I'm her boss. I'm the third in the nation."

"What, behind the President and the Vice President," the Regional Superintendent asked, disbelieving.

"This was a bad idea," I replied. I pulled out my phone, dialing Carrie's number. "Get me the Secretary of Education."

"Yes, sir," Carrie replied.

"Now what are you going to do," she asked. "Call the Ghostbusters."

"Sam," I said, touching my ear. I had a fentonfone put in because of all the running I've been doing. "Call the Marines and order another Operation Big Foot. I made a mistake."

"Big Foot," the State Superintendent mockingly asked. "I thought you dealt with ghosts."

"Sit down and shut up," I retorted, getting into Radar mode.

"Connecting," Carrie said.

After a moment, I was connected. "I'm taking control of Amity Park's school systems," I explained. "I want you to make Casper High School, Amity Park Middle School and Savior Elementary School a private system."

"You're removing them from the public school system," she asked me.

"I have to," I replied. "They're threatening to shut us down. This way, I can have more control."

"Okay, Radar," she replied. "If that's what you want. Are you wanting me to contact Samuels?"

"No," I replied. "I'll break the news to him later."

"Yes, sir," she replied. "Have a good afternoon."

"You too, Secretary Spellings," I replied. I disconnected the line.

"Who are you really," the State Superintendent asked.

"I've already told you," I replied. "Besides, it's not like you are going to remember this place in a little while anyway."

"Hey, Danny," I heard Sam remark. "The Marines are on their way."

"Perfect," I replied. "Thanks, Sam."

"What did you do wrong," Sam asked me through the Fentonfones.

"I told the State and Regional Superintendents about Division G," I said, frowning. "I'd better call Mom and let her know what's going off."

"Okay," Sam said. I pulled my phone out but I hesitated. It's not like anyone else but Secretary Spellings would know what I was doing. There was no reason to explain this to Mom over the phone. I'd talk to her later I decided and returned my phone to my pocket.

I have a lot of work to do to get this place ready. I crossed my arms across my chest, trying to convince myself we didn't need Summer School. However, I knew that it was inevitable. We had lost so much time to the ghost attacks that we were seriously behind. While I may want my summer uninterrupted, the teacher in me knows that this isn't right. It's like sending a kid or a group of kids who didn't have the time to progress onto the next level in the program. I couldn't just pretend everything was fine and I couldn't pretend that the stuff they're teaching us isn't important. I can't change the curriculum to fit my wants. Other schools and higher education wouldn't lower their standards to reach our lows. The kids would be behind if they went elsewhere.

"I hate that you're right," I said, glaring at the Regional Superintendent. "We do need summer school!"

"I'm not sure if summer school would help," she replied. "It would have to be a year round high school."

"Or act like one," I said, getting an idea. I had to deal with a year round high school when one of my campers' schools threatened to go that route. Division G stepped in and they changed their minds out of fear for their lives but anyway, I know how they work. "This school already gets more days off than a traditional school. We get a full week off for Thanksgiving and three weeks off for Christmas, way more than the normal amount allowed. If we just threw some extra days in there to compensate for summer vacation, we could make it work!"

"What do you mean you get three weeks off for Christmas," the State Superintendent declared.

"It's a law in Amity Park," I explained. "In the past, the King decided that more time was needed for Christmas vacation so he added an extra week. Instead of getting off a few days before Christmas and going back the day after New Year's, we get off from the second Monday of December and go back the first Monday after New Year's. Sometimes, we get a little more time because New Years is on a Monday. It depends on the year."

"How could you allow this," the Regional Superintendent accused of Principal Ishyama.

"The King writes the paycheck," Principal Ishyama replied. "What is going on, Mr. Fenton?"

"Division G is taking over the school district in this town because of the ghosts," I explained, "but I'll leave everything as it is. Dash will still be King and you'll be principal. I may not even tell Dash what has happened. I just may write out the funding."

"What is this Division G," Principal Ishyama asked.

"Remember what I told them," I replied. "About the FBI and the Homeland Security."

"Yeah," she replied.

"Well, we monitor the country and the world for ghost activity. My boss doesn't know about the exposure here because Mom and Dad never told him they opened the portal. I've been making sure the exposure doesn't grow."

"And what's this business about third in command," she asked.

"Well, nothing matters more to our government that keeping this knowledge secret. If you are caught exposing this on a massive scale, you can be tried with treason. You can advertise your business, you can tell your friends but if you start showing proof or try to publish it on a grand scale, you will attract our attention. To keep this knowledge out of the public, there are three people that hold absolute power: the boss, the expert and the distributor. They have official names, like the boss is the Director of Division G but that's the gist of it. George Samuels is the Director, my mom is the expert and I am the distributor. After us three, then the President and so on and so forth."

"Are you making this up," she asked me.

"Of course he is," the Regional Superintendent replied. "There are no secret societies or ghosts and the President doesn't call anyone sir… at least not in this country."

"I don't know about the secret society or the President but I know ghosts exist," Principal Ishyama defended. "You should have seen this place on December 21 of last year."

"That's the day that Division G lost its perfect record," I sighed, "and my boss doesn't even know about it."

"Why," she asked. "Surly he'd understand."

"Oh, he'd understand," I replied. "It's the portal. That's something he wouldn't understand. See, Mom and Dad invented a form of ectoplasm but Samuels thought it was too risky to continue. He outlawed its use but Mom and Dad still use it. The Director is supposed to be the one in charge but going back for generations, it's has always been the Fenton who has been in control. You won't find anyone else who knows more about ghosts."

"So your parents are threatening to anger their boss," Principal Ishyama asked.

"If you want to call it that," I replied. "My parents are the first people in the history of Division G who are more beneficial to the secret than the Director. In all honesty, Mom should be the director but Samuels was appointed before Mom was even born. Samuels is in his sixties or seventies."

"When do they retire in this organization," she declared.

"The last day they can work," I said. "Directors are a lot like Kings. They rule until they die or step down. However, no one has stepped down before."

"So what would happen if this Samuels guy died," she asked me. "Does his son take over or something?"

"No," I sighed. "Samuels has already selected his appointee. He wants a Fenton to take over the job. That's who the distributor is. He follows the Director around all his life, learning the trade of the job. When Samuels dies," I said, exhaling loudly, "I become the next Director."

"Well, at least you'll have plenty of practice," Principal Ishyama chuckled.

"It's not a job you want," I sighed. "They're practically a babysitter to the secret. Your life is dedicated to keeping the secret. If the secret comes out, you are directly responsible for the panic that ensues. You remember what this place was like right after the pageant. Pandemonium. Could you imagine that on three hundred million instead of the seven thousand here?"

"I see your point," she said gravely.

I looked to my watch, "The Marines will be here soon. If you want to watch something truly amazing you can but I'm going to erase their memories."

"You're going to what," Principal Ishyama asked.

"Marines are coming to erase our memories," the State Superintendent asked in denial.

"That's right," I replied. "Are you going to stick around or not?"

"I've got to see this," she replied.

"Okay," I smiled. "I'll permit it."

O_O

The Marines arrived shortly after that. After making sure Principal Ishyama had ground clearance, we proceeded. As the Marines began to set up, I stepped forward with my part, "You have observed key information regarding National Security and have been sentenced to undergoing Operation Big Foot. You may not object to this ruling and soon after, you will not be able to recall the event of which you observed. You will be free to go as soon as the order has been satisfied. Do you understand these rules?"

"I don't want to be here anymore," the Regional Superintendent replied. She truly looked terrified now while the State Superintendent was starting to worry himself.

"There's nothing to be afraid of," I replied. "You will remember everything but your trip down here. You will still have a family, you will still have your jobs; all will be the same. I'm just removing the memory of today, that's all." I turned to the Marines, "If you are ready, proceed."

"Yes, sir," they replied. They proceeded to place the Superintendents into a deep sleep. "Do you remember when you decided to come to Amity Park," I asked the Regional Superintendent, standing directly in front of her.

"Yes," she replied, her voice soft and clear.

"That never happened. You know nothing about the issue with Casper High regarding grades. The school will be removed from the public school system next year so you have no stakes in that school. You stayed in your office all day, preparing for the closing of the schools. Am I clear," I asked.

"I stayed in my office. Casper High is not my concern. They are becoming a private school so the only thing that matters to me is the students who stay in my district or plan to go to a public school."

I nodded to the Marines and they placed the green ball in her purse, "When you hear the howl of the big foot, you will awaken. You will have no recollection of the past four hours; the trip here or the events that have gone off here. Am I clear?"

"Yes," she replied. I moved to the State Supervisor now that the Regional Supervisor was taken care of. Some of the Marines removed her to their vehicle to relocate her.

"Do you remember when I asked you to come to Amity Park," I asked.

"Yes," he replied in a monotone voice.

"That never happened," I began the process again. "You have been in your office all day, dealing with the preparation to close the schools. Am I clear?"

"Yes," he replied.

"When you hear the howl of the big foot, you will awaken. You will have no memory of the events of the past two hours; the trip here or the past thirty minutes. Am I clear?"

"Yes," he replied. I placed the ball in his coat as well. I nodded to the Marines charged with returning him. They were more difficult to deal with because he had to go back to Springfield and she had to go back to Salem. The rest of the Marines picked up the Operation Big Foot material and left.

"That was… wow. I'm speechless."

"Do you believe me now," I asked her.

"I don't know about the President… but yeah. I'm a believer about this Division G society. Holy cow!"

"I don't blame you for being skeptical about the President but it is true," I replied. I looked to my watch again. It was almost lunchtime. I had to get to the clinic. I promised Dr. Reynolds she wouldn't be alone when she got there. "I gotta go. Bye!"

"Do you need an excuse," she asked me.

"I have one on file for anytime I need one, thanks," I replied. "Gotta go!"

Besides, I wasn't going to class. I had to get to the free clinic so I could take care of the Guardsmen guarding the building. While I flew to the clinic, I called Samuels.

"Samuels," he answered in a gruff voice like always.

"Guess who," I said.

"Radar," he chuckled. "How are things?"

"Not good," I replied. "Mom shut down a place and I need it opened back up. Could you help?"

"You know I can," Samuels said, a little skeptical. "Why are you wanting it open again if your mother closed it?"

"It's a clinic," I replied. "It's a shady operation in her eyes but it really does the community good. They take in anyone who comes in, despite their age, race, ethics, or the inability to pay. However, they only call in the authorities if they are asked to meaning someone who was shot or who are abused could come in without involving the police. I went there and they didn't alert my parents."

"Why did you go," he asked me.

"I was hurt," I replied. "A lot of kids go because they get scrapes or something but they don't want their parents to freak. That's why I went."

"What happened to get you hurt," he asked me.

"I fell," I said, borderline truth and a complete lie. I fell all right; into a shit pile of problems!

"Why did I even bother," Samuels groaned. "Give me the battalion's number that's guarding the place."

"Uh," I groaned, fumbling with my second phone number. "One minute." I dialed Julie's number, "Julie, honey, can you go talk to Gayle and find out that battalion Mom sent out last Thursday?"

"Sure thing," she replied.

"Are you on two phones at the same time," Samuels laughed.

"Yes," I replied.

"What was that, Radar," Julie asked.

"Nothing," I answered.

"Nothing what," Samuels asked.

I groaned. "I was talking to Julie."

"Who are you talking to now," Julie asked.

"Samuels," I answered.

"What?"

I groaned out. "Samuels, I was talking to Julie. Julie, I was talking to Samuels. I, Radar, am on the phone with two different people!" I gasped as my ghost sense. "And I, Radar, am in deep do-do!"

**AN: There's a box at the bottom of the screen. It's really lonely. It would appreciate something wrote inside it and so would I. :D**


	14. Chapter 14

**Disclaimer: I don't own Danny Phantom.**

**Warning: This story contains reference to rape, sexual content, male sex and pedophilia. If any of this disturbs you, please do not read.**

**Chapter 14: War**

I balanced my regular phone on my shoulder while I held onto my team phone. Forming ectoplasm around my hands, I designed the ultimate phone holder. I made it so that the ectoplasm made like a belt around my waist and came up to sit directly behind my back. I put the phones just parallel with my neck so that I could be heard but not close enough that they could hear my grunts. Hopefully, I won't be screaming any time soon. I formed a table to sit on top of the pole and below the phones.

I formed a band around my phones and a shield around the entire table so they would have protection. When I finished that, I felt the ghost. "I didn't even have to go to the school to find you," a voice declared. I turned around, knowing exactly who I was facing.

"Ember," I said, surprised. "Don't you usually stay away?"

"I have a concert coming up, dipstick. I wanted to be prepared," she replied.

"A concert," I asked. "Why are you playing a concert?"

"What," she laughed. "I always enjoy a good crowd."

"Then why are you telling me," I asked.

"What is that thing behind you," Ember asked. "It's hideous."

"I'm kind of busy," I replied. "Any chance we can reschedule?"

"And chance you crashing my concert," she scoffed. "No thank you."

"I'm going to crash that anyway," I said, raising my eyebrows.

"Radar, what is going on? Who is that?"

"Who's your friend," Ember asked me.

"Do you have me on speaker," Samuels asked. "I don't hear an echo?"

"Give me a minute, Samuels. I've got something to do right now."

"Give it up, baby pop," she teased. "Cause you can't stop the music!"

"Oh, please," I scoffed. "Is that the best you got? Cause I could come up with a million music puns better than that."

"Well, the same hack that wrote my songs still writes my insults," she taunted.

"Apparently," I said, shaking my head. I blasted off towards her, planning on meeting her head on. She counteracted by strumming her guitar at me, sending me back. I grunted softly, phasing through the ground. I came up behind her, tackling her to the ground. Ember became intangible, allowing me to fall through her. I turned around, looking up at her as I floated on my back.

"Why must we do this every time," she groaned. "You can't just beat me. You have to add insult to injury."

"Believe me, if anyone has insult added to injury, it's me," I retorted. "I'm the one who has to do this day in and day out."

"No one makes you conquer this town," she scoffed. "You could leave things be but you chose to be a conquering-," she began.

"Don't," I retorted. "Samuels, Julie, I'm going to put you on mute. Bye!"

"Radar, don't you dare," Samuels retorted but I switched the phones on mute, making nothing I say transfer to him. "Radar, unmute this phone this instant."

"Why don't you let the humans hear our conversation," she asked me.

"One, they don't know ghosts are exposed. Two, they don't know I'm a ghost. Three, I just don't want to. Now, let's fight!"

"Why don't you just suck me in the thermos and spare me the humility," she replied.

"Why do you think that I won't attack your concert just because we fight today," I asked.

"Because I wasn't planning on telling you about the concert," she scoffed. "You asked me and I thought it. I can't just leave or I would have already."

"You thought that," I said, surprised. "I thought you said it aloud."

"Nope," she smacked her lips. "You're a borderline mind controller," she replied. "You are not supposed to have that power but because you were taught by someone who does and you're a fast learner, you will pass that power down to your next generation."

"My children will have the ability to read minds," I declared in shock.

"Probably not your children," she replied. "Your grandchildren or great grandchildren, maybe. It's not set in stone. It may not surface; that's a possibility."

"Well, you're wrong about one thing," I replied. "I did ask if we could reschedule this."

"True," she nodded. "I guess I'll see you if you locate my concert."

"Where is it," I asked her, cocking a grin.

"Blah, blah, blah. I can't hear you," she said. However, I could make out some shape in my mind. I wasn't a basic thought reader so I couldn't hear the automatic response. I could only make out what she saw when I asked that question. I'd have to go on that information alone. "See ya, dipstick!"

"See ya, pop princess," I smirked. She transported out using her flames. I flipped the phones off mute. "Samuels, Julie. Are you still there?"

"Yes, sir," Julie replied at the same time as Samuels, "Radar, I should skin you alive for that! Who was that woman and what was she saying that was so bad that I couldn't hear?"

"She was just a pain," I replied. "Julie, did you get that Battalion number?"

"Yes, sir," she replied. She read out the numbers while I formed them in Ectoplasm.

I read the numbers to Samuels, "Can you take care of that?"

"Sure," he sighed. "But are you going to tell me what is going off? I swore I heard you gasp."

"I'm fine," I replied. I really was fine. This turned out to be not so bad. It certainly could have turned out worse.

"Okay," Samuels sighed, resigning. "I'll call this battalion and take care of the problem but you're dealing with your mother. I'm her boss but you are her son. There are certain people you just can't double-cross."

"I know," I sighed, "but she acted on emotion and not reason."

"Are you sure you're not doing the same," Samuels asked me.

"Hold that thought," I said. "I'm sorry, Julie. That will be all."

"Oh," she replied. "Have a good afternoon, Radar."

"You too," I replied, hanging up my regular phone. "It's not like my parents won't know what I did anyway. They've been recording my communications."

"What," Samuels declared. "Why?"

"They didn't trust me," I replied. "I'd been missing curfew and my grades plummeted so they were trying to make sure I wasn't associating with any bad crowds."

"What was happening," he asked.

"I have some stuff going on down here that few know about," I replied. "I've just been swamped as of late."

"You shouldn't let anything get in the way of your studies," he answered. "We wouldn't be in this mess if you had."

"Oh, we'd be in this mess," I replied. "There was no way around it. Thank you, Samuels. Goodbye."

"Bye," Samuels sighed. I hung up the phone, retrieving it from my creation and dissolved it away. I looked to my watch and it read a quarter until eleven. That would give the Guardsmen plenty of time to clear out.

O_O

By the time Dr. Reynolds had arrived, the Marines had cleared out. She took me inside and started up the machines. She took my blood pressure and asked me a million questions. I didn't complain thought because I was worried. I was under so much stress and I am still under physical stress. I don't care how tough you are; no one five months along should be involved in as much heavy labor as I am. She measured my waist but instead of growing concerned, she was happy.

"Danny, you are perfectly normal and this is the first time I can say that," she replied. "Your stress levels have gone down, you're increasing your intake of food, getting more rest. There is nothing wrong with you. I am very impressed."

"But why did I gain so much weight," I asked.

"I'd say it has something to do with your powers," she replied. "With your food consumption up, your body is allowing all the food to nurture you but your powers are probably doing the same thing. Meaning you are getting double proportions. It's been two or three weeks since you began eating more so you've gained all that plus. Also, your baby is growing and filling up that uterus." She turned on the ultrasound, "Let's have a look."

She took a peek at Lilly but she still saw no cause for concern. I don't know if I'm buying this theory of hers but I know I'm going to keep my eyes open. "Well, thanks for coming out. I'll have your clinic up and running again soon," I explained. "Samuels has already seized the clinic."

"For us or for him," Dr. Reynolds asked.

"For me," I replied. "But I'll be handing you the ownership papers. You'll no longer be owned by the town of Amity Park."

"I still won't be calling the police," she said. "These kids would go to a regular hospital or another free clinic if they weren't worried about the authorities being involved. Think of you! You would have never sought out help if we didn't operate the way we do. What would you have done in your pregnancy? What we do is important? We'll keep asking those who do come in under mysterious circumstances to seek help from the authorities but we'll never call them ourselves. At least those people have a safe place to run too."

"That's what I think," I smiled. "Well, I'd better get back to school. I'll see you later."

"All right," she replied. "Call me anytime; day or night!"

"Thank you," I smiled brighter. I transformed and flew back to school.

O_O

That afternoon when I made it home, I got an earful from Mom. She did listen in when I called Julie but she wasn't fast enough to stop Gayle from giving Julie the information I wanted. She praised me for keeping the secret from Samuels but she was too confused about what Ember was trying to say. Afterwards, we went to the castle. We ordered lunch before we started working.

The record keeper came in later, wishing to speak to me. I stood up and excused myself. "Sire, it has come to my attention that you have been seeking outside doctors for your pregnancy. We have a fully operational hospital here."

"You do," I said, surprised.

"Of course, sire," he replied. "If you'd like, I could have your medical files transferred over here so you could be seen in your own haunt. That way when you go into labor, you will know all the people and you will have the comforts of home."

"The hospital outlaws humans," I began. "Would my hospital do the same?"

"You'd have to ask yourself that question, sire. You are the King after all."

"You mean High King," I corrected him.

"No, sire," he replied. "The Tantamount King is no longer a title used. You would have to personally accept him back into the castle."

"Why," I asked, surprised.

"You banished him," he answered. "Three weeks ago."

"I did no such thing," I denied. "I don't know how to do such a thing!"

"Sire, it's not that hard," he replied, a little startled. "That day, you screamed at him to leave. You were in your haunt so you banished him."

"Vlad has not been here since the King," I declared. "How could I tell him to leave if he's never been to Pariah's Keep?"

"That's Phantom's Keep," he replied. "And you weren't in Phantom's Keep. You were in your Earthly haunt."

"You mean when we first broke up," I declared in shock. "When I erased my family's memories about what happened. I screamed at him to leave."

"You were in your haunt, sire, so that means you banished him," the record keeper replied. "If he shows up here unannounced, we will strike."

"Don't attack him," I replied. "He is the father of my baby and sometimes I love him and sometimes I hate him. I don't want him hurt."

"As you wish," he said, bowing. "I will get into contact with the hospital. Good day sir."

O_O

We went on patrol that night and everything was pretty normal. I couldn't find any signs of a concert going on so I was satisfied that the concert wasn't tonight. Afterwards, I sucked up my courage and my pride and went to Elemerton. Strangely, Vlad wasn't there.

"Well, this was a waste of time," I said aloud, heading back upstairs from Vlad's office. I went into what was to be our daughter's bedroom to find the walls painted a rosy pink. Tears came to my eyes as I took in everything surrounding me. The entire room had a transformation from boy-themed to girl-themed. I opened the closet and every piece of clothing in that room was for a baby girl, all the way up to six months. "Oh, Vlad," I whispered, tears of joy leaking down my face. He did accept her for who she was.

I sat down in the recliner, picking up a stuffed teddy bear in a tutu on the book shelf. I clutched it to my chest as I started glancing down the books. There was an entire series of books that all began with 'What To Expect'. I picked up the first one in the series: 'What to Expect When You're Expecting.' I started flipping through the book, seeing a book full of vast knowledge. I stopped on the chapter that showed my developmental stage: five months. I was surprised to see all the things my daughter could do at twenty-two weeks. She could even see the light of a flashlight if I shined it on my abdomen.

I flipped to the sixth month since that's the stage I'd be entering next week.

…

I laughed out loud as I read the last line on week 23. It said by my eighth month, there would be no more see through baby. Not with my child. She can go see through and pass through solid objects on a whim. I read on.

…

Oh, my goodness, I thought as I read week 24. Because my daughter has no pigmentation, her hair would be snowy white just like in ghost form. That's amazing. I decided to skip the development charts and went to flip the page. However, I couldn't stop to look at the adorable illustration of a baby in the top-middle of the page. It was so human like. Nothing like what we see as a fetus. I had to remind myself that that baby had gestated for six months.

I looked at the illustration on the page and gasped. They had the abdomen of a pregnant woman with the fetus in view. The fetus was so tiny compared to a human but it was huge considering where it was. I'm going to have to deliver that! I didn't even want to think about that. I can't take anything touching my sensitive area and that has to be where she'll come from. How am I going to manage that? My eyes glanced over a bulletin list: What You May Be Feeling.

Five out of eleven items I had but I couldn't say about one of them. It said I should feel Lilly move more and be able to tell it was the baby. I know I can feel Lilly but my senses are so heightened that I can pick up the slightest move… and she moves a lot. I don't know what I would be feeling if this were a normal pregnancy. I just wonder why I feel all these things. It can't all be Lilly's fault.

The picture had a caption below it so I read it. It said my uterus will grow to the size of a basketball this month. Holy cow! Suddenly, I got very nauseas.

On the second page, I saw another seven items I had missed. I had nearly none of them and if the enlarged breasts they were talking about was bigger than last month, I guess I didn't have that one either. I had to remind myself that I was still a week away from beginning this step. Those symptoms may be what I have to look forward to. On the other side of the page, it listed five items that I may be feeling emotionally. I had three of the five items. The one thing that scared me was the thought of being absentminded. What exactly are they talking about? Am I going to get a ghost sense and then forget about it or am I just going to forget my phone a lot?

It went on to explain what I should expect from my checkup next month and started answering some questions. The mother asked about insomnia and the author gave some tips on the next page and into the one after that. At the very bottom of the page on the left hand side was a caption. It suggested making a capsule to show your baby a glimpse of the past. I mulled that over, wondering if it was a good idea. Right now, the future isn't looking so good. Would this be a reminder of bad times or a shining light through the darkness?

I read through all the other topics but found nothing I was particularly interested in. Joining a pregnancy class? As if! I couldn't imagine the humility that would come from that. However, I did get one question answered. Reading one of the captions was like listening to Dr. Reynolds. When I went to the clinic this morning, what I was concerned about even though I had no idea it existed was preeclampsia. High blood pressure during pregnancy in other words. I have no doubt if I went to a hospital (and was a woman) I would be diagnosed with that. My blood pressure is twice as high as a normal person and that would probably send a doctor into fits.

I placed the book back on the shelf and stood up, careful to do so slowly. Once I was to my feet, I walked to the kitchen to fix my second lunch. I ate so much that sometimes I think I may blow up but I know it's for the baby. I may prefer to avoid the discomfort eating tasteless food but I know my daughter suffers for it. I will always make sure my daughter is content.

O_O

As I was eating the phone rang. I stood up slowly and walked to the living room, answering.

"May I speak to a Vlad Masters," the man on the phone asked.

"He's not here," I replied. I pulled over a notebook, "May I take a message."

"Yes," he replied. "Mike Biggens with New Home Contractors." He told me his phone number, adding, "I'm ready for his evaluation."

"Okay," I said slowly as I started to process that. He hung up but I remained on the line a bit longer. Vlad was constructing a new home? Why would he do that? He was ready to move us to the island but I thought he was happy here in Elemerton. Why would he leave us?

Why wouldn't he, I belittled myself. I've done nothing but give him trouble in the last three weeks. Why would he put up with my crap? He's done with me and now he's planning on moving on. What about Lilly, though? Would he give up on her or would he try to take her? Would he demand equal time? Would he take this to court? I slowly walked back to the kitchen, finishing my food. I can never taste it anyway so I just mindlessly ate. Finally, I did the dishes and went into our bedroom.

The only thing that is keeping us apart is my uncertainty. Sure, he threatened Jazz last weekend but we pushed him first. I don't like that he was creating a super weapon but that could easily be explained because of Invincible. Oh, my God, Invincible! I haven't done anything with him yet. Since I stayed the night at HQ, I haven't returned the ghosts to the Ghost Zone yet so he should still be in there. I need to decide what I'm going to do with him.

I looked around our room again, this time smiling. I was happy with Vlad before and Lilly needs both parents. Vlad really was trying but how could I expect him to succeed? Every time I broke up with him, I was telling him he couldn't! He hasn't done anything unforgivable. After I give him a stern talking to, I'd go back to him… this time for good.

O_O

I went home after waiting there for nearly an hour. Vlad still hadn't come back and I realized that he may be on a business trip somewhere. I found Mom waiting in my room when I came in. I hadn't come home at all because I wanted to go see Vlad so I was still in my day clothes. Thank goodness, too, because lately when I do go out (and that's every night), I transform in my pajamas. "Hey, Mom."

"You usually come in before you start your late night patrol," Mom said, standing up. She had a look of surprise on her face. I know she had to be thinking she was in for a late night.

"I had something I had to do after I dropped Tucker off," I replied. It was late, true, but I came in through the front door. I found it strange that no one had met me at the door.

"You mean you had to catch a ghost," Mom said. "Was it this Invincible guy?"

"I actually wanted to talk to you about that," I replied. "He attacked me over the weekend and we caught him. I don't know what to do with him—."

"You caught him," Mom declared. "Give him here. I'd love to see how much pain I could inflict on him!"

"Oh, Mom," I groaned. "I don't want him to be tortured I just know I can't return him to the Ghost Zone. I may come to regret it."

"Danny, I normally don't torture life forms that exist before I get my hands on them but this bastard has it coming to him. He has hurt you too much. He's going to visit Momma Bear for a while."

"But you won't kill him," I asked. I wanted to add 'or tear him apart molecule by molecule' but I was afraid it might make her suspicious. No one deserves that.

"No, sweetie," Mom said softly. "Though I want to. I will keep him under lock and key and he won't hurt you again."

"Okay," I replied. "I have three days' worth of ghosts in this thermos. It's quite full."

"Okay," Mom said. "Let's go to the lab."

O_O

Mom had this huge cube that was in a part of the house that I had never seen. We were on a platform but we were in clear view of the cube. The cube was actually made up of these huge slabs of glass in the shapes of squares. The slabs were about three feet tall and three feet long. In the center, the cube was vacant of these squares but it had a bubble top, rising above the square slabs. I handed her the thermos, waiting to see what would happen.

Almost all of the squares had a ghost in it once Mom emptied the thermos. The same thing I use to empty the thermos in the portal, Mom had on the platform. However, the shoot down here had a keypad. "Do you see Invincible," Mom asked.

"Yeah," I replied. "How do we get him out?"

"Do you see the number that corresponds to his square," Mom asked.

"B-six," I replied.

Mom typed in B six in the key pad and Invincible was shot into the bubble-top cube. I blinked a few times as I came to realization. "Man, you guys are good."

"I was thinking the same thing," Mom remarked. "You caught all these ghosts in two or three days?"

"I caught Invincible towards the end of Saturday's patrol," I replied. "I'm dying to know. What's with the numbers?"

"There's A and there's B," Mom replied. "Each letter is accompanied with up to one hundred numbers. The first ghost you capture goes to A-one. The last ghost you can capture before the thermos overloads is B-one-hundred. Once the slots are full, they begin to accumulate in the center of the thermos, the soup part. I don't know how many that can hold. I never imagined I'd ever see that many ghosts."

"Oh, I've seen more," I replied. The night that Invincible attacked me with the fifteen hundred ghosts, I caught tons of them. I remember that I kept changing the thermoses because I didn't know how many they could take. I was fighting blind.

"You've seen more than… oh, my God," Mom replied.

"What," I asked.

"There are nearly four hundred ghosts down there!"

"I catch nearly two hundred a night," I replied. "Are you sure there's not more than four hundred?"

"No, there's only three hundred and eighty-eight."

"Sam and Tucker," I declared. "They have thermoses!"

"You mean there's more," Mom cried.

"Yeah," I replied. "Is there a way to get them back in the thermos or am I going to have to recapture them."

"I'll release them when I'm done with my research," Mom replied.

"Mom," I said, a little startled. "You can't experiment on them. Some of those ghosts don't mean any harm!"

"And I don't mean any harm," Mom replied. "I'll work overtime to finish up earlier. Or better yet, I'll release all but a handful of them if you promise me I can study them before you release them again."

"Can I pick which ones you study first," I replied.

"Why," Mom asked.

"Well," I began, "Some ghosts are ones that only come out every so often and some I've never seen before. I want to make sure you have the right ghost to study."

"So I won't miss an opportunity," Mom smiled. I smiled back at her—completely fake. I would be removing those ghosts because I have no idea what they're like. She'll only have access to the ones I completely understand and trust. "Okay, baby. I can study eight at a time and so can your father. The tests last forty-five minutes so I can perform one hundred and ninety-two tests in a day. So chose a hundred and ninety-two ghosts for me."

"How can you preform eight tests at once," I cried. "What are you, an octopus?"

"What," Mom laughed. "I have eight machines."

"But you don't have eight arms… or eight yous. How can you do that many tests at once?"

"I don't need eight of myself," Mom replied. "All I have to do is hook up the machine and it does the rest for me. I just sit back and watch the results. Add a little encouragement every once and a while."

A robotic vivisection, I shivered. No wonder they can separate themselves. They don't have to do it themselves. "I don't know," I said, getting nervous. "Mom, I don't want any of these ghosts hurt."

"Honey," Mom said softly. "They won't feel a bit of pain. Even if they could!"

"How about I give you two ghosts and I get an opinion questionnaire afterwards," I replied. "Then I'll lay out two hundred ghosts for you to experiment on."

"Fine," Mom replied, "If it'll make you happy."

Now, which two ghosts do I give to her? I walked down the platform, walking by all the ghosts. I stopped at one. He was a nighttime ghost and has caused a lot of pain and suffering for my town. "A-ninety-five," I called up to Mom. She punched something on the keypad and I was surprised when Invincible disappeared from the center and the other ghost appeared. "What happened?"

"I sent Invincible to my lab," Mom replied. "The same thing will happen to him as soon as you select the last one."

"Okay," I sighed. At least he wasn't out. I continued my evaluation. Finally, I came across another one. This ghost had tried to assault a woman one night and I gave him an extra helping of my fist. "C-fifteen."

The last ghost disappeared the same way Invincible had and the new one took his place. Within an instant, Mom had him too shipped off to God knows where. Mom turned her back to the keyboard, grabbing something from behind her. I started to climb to the top again when I noticed a quarter of the ghosts disappeared. I finished running up the stairs.

"Now what happened," I cried, looking over the platform.

Mom handed me three circular discs. "They're in here," Mom replied.

"What's this," I asked, looking at them. I finally noticed what it was when I flipped the top towards me. "This is what's in the bottom of the thermos!"

"You learned how to open it," Mom smiled.

"Yeah," I said slowly. "Let's go with that!"

Mom looked at me funny but considering she thought it was impossible to break the thermoses, she continued. "You know how to empty them into the thermos shoot, right?"

"Not really," I replied. "I just empty it by putting the thermos in the opening."

"I'll show you," Mom replied. I stepped onto the elevator that was directly in front of the keypad. "Return to Lab!" We rose back into the lab, passing through the door I never saw in the floor. I knew we had secret compartments under the lab (the medical tent is stored under there and Dad keeps his torture equipment down there like the Fenton Stockades) but I had never noticed the rectangle-shaped door near the workstation. I always thought this part of the lab was empty. I wonder where else they have secret compartments.

"Okay," I said, walking over to the thermos. "How do I do this?"

Mom took one of the discs and pointed it to a small little slot on the thermos shoot. "Slip it right in there just like a CD. It'll even spin like a CD as it releases the ghost."

I put one of mine in the cavity of the hole and pushed it inside. I could hear the tiny mechanics of the machine working as it expelled the ghosts. After a few moments, it ejected. I put the last one I had in there. When that one ejected, I asked for the one Mom had. I slipped it in after she reluctantly handed it to me. It expelled them and ejected just the same as the others had.

"Thanks," I replied. "After I'm sure what you're doing to them is humane, I'll let you experiment on more. I just don't feel comfortable doing that to anything. Even a ghost."

"I'm glad you're concerned about others wellbeing," Mom said, pulling me close. I looked up at her. "Everything deserves to live, Danny. Sometimes, ghosts do bad things, but that doesn't mean there's not a side to their story. Even the most evil ghost out there has a reason for doing what he's doing and he believes in that as much as you believe in what you're doing."

"You're talking about Phantom, aren't you," I asked, grimacing.

"While I think he's an evil creature, I don't think he's the worse the Ghost Zone has to offer," Mom sighed. "I just think he could become it if he keeps feeding the way he is."

"Goodnight, Mom," I said, sighing. Everyone has a right to their own opinion but it hurts to hear your mother believe you're not doing the right thing.

O_O

The next morning, I picked up Sam and Tucker and went about my business. I tried to stay out of everyone's way but I kept getting the glares. I know they'll pass soon but until they do, I'm going to be miserable. With the attention I got at the end of the last two weeks, I just can't seem to catch a break. It's really hard to let the wind roll off your back when you're a turbine.

First period was hell. Second period was bumpy. Third period was hell. Fourth period was bumpy. Fifth period was hell because we were separated and not because of the teacher. Sixth and seventh periods were double hell (double Tetslaff). Eighth period was the same as fifth—hell because we were separated just on a less scale for Sam and Tucker since they were together. Needless to say, I was ready to go home.

"Why does life hate us," I sighed as we flew home invisibly.

"I don't know," Tucker sighed, "but I'm getting tired of this."

"Every teacher in this school has it out for us," Sam retorted.

"Not every teacher," I smiled softly. They couldn't see it but I knew they would know that I found a little peace in this war.

"Yeah," Tucker retorted. "Who?"

"Mr. Lancer," I replied, surprised they haven't seen it. He's the only one who has tried to spare us the problems.

"He's the worst offender," Sam declared. "That entire class was giving us dirty looks but he kept teaching and assigning work!"

"That was the gift," I replied. "He was trying to keep the tension off us. Fuluka and Tetslaff sat back and allowed the students to put the heat on us." The other two classes we had separately so we never discussed them. It wouldn't matter what happened in that class. As long as we were apart, it was hell.

"Still," Tucker sighed, "I'm getting fed up with this. It seems that entire school has declared war on us."

"They have," I replied, throwing my arms out. Once again, they couldn't see it but I could care less; they got the point. "What is the one thing that people fear most?"

"Ghosts," Tucker replied, more as a question.

"No," I retorted. "I meant change. People like things that are normal. They have a perceived image of the world and when something changes about that image, they get uncomfortable. When humans get uncomfortable, they get defensive. That's why they're declaring war on us. We've changed the rules and they don't like it."

"You mean because we're standing up for ourselves and actually proving that we can take them, they're even more angry with us," Sam replied. "It makes sense."

"It makes absolutely no sense," Tucker retorted. "We never said we were wimps!"

"It was implied," I replied. "We're toned like most other ghost hunters," I explained. "Because we've always stood out from the crowd, we were associated with 'them' and 'they' aren't strong."

"It's still ridiculous," Tucker replied. I touched down in my alley, transforming. Sam and Tucker followed suit.

"I never said it was rational," I replied, walking out of the alley.

"I just don't know what we're going to do," Sam replied. "Do we change their perception of us or do we pretend to be who they perceive us as?"

"I haven't figured that out yet," I sighed. "I want to remain low key but with the way I am now, I don't think that'll be possible."

"What way is that," Tucker asked as we started to climb the steps.

"The best way I can explain it is spent," I replied. "I've had all I can take with absorbing the crap. I can't have that much stress, I need to decide what's important and what's not and I can't keep taking all the shit I've took in the past few months."

"What's with the change," Sam asked me, cocking her head. We started up the stairs for my room.

"The therapist," I replied. "She's made me realize that while I need to remain dedicated, I also have to know when to draw the line. More harm than good can come from spending myself in one place."

"About time you realize that," Sam replied.

"That doesn't mean that I won't push myself to the limit when the occasion calls for it," I added. "If the King happened today instead of two months ago, I would still give it my all."

"Has it really been two months," Tucker asked in shock.

"Yeah," I replied. "I think. Today's the twenty-sixth, right?"

Tucker pulled out his PDA and I inwardly chuckled. If we were held at gunpoint and demanded to tell him the day of the week, he'd just have to shoot us. "Yeah."

"Plasmius released him on the last day of February," I replied. "It'll be two months… Thursday."

"My goodness," Sam sighed. "How long has it been since Dan?"

"Thirty-one days," I answered. "Exactly one month." I've had him on my mind all day and that's what's kept me from attacking those students when I'd been pushed to the limit.

"Oh, my God," Sam declared. "It has been one month, hasn't it."

"Yep," I sighed. "I took the make-up test two weeks ago."

"It just seems unreal," Tucker replied. "Days run together. Weeks runs together. I just can't keep track of time anymore."

"Why even try," I replied. "Time will always win. I haven't seen anyone who has defeated time."

"All you need to do is look in the mirror," Sam replied. "You beat that Clockwork guy."

"Yeah, right," I retorted. "Clockwork just made me beat myself—literally! He positioned me so that I would flee into the future so I could destroy that timeline myself."

"I'll accept that," Tucker replied. "He was too lazy to do something himself so he made you see what was in store. It was probably the only good thing that happened that day."

I would disagree with that but I wouldn't tell them that. The best thing that happened that day was Clockwork setting back time. They don't have to know what it's like to nearly die. I've been there and I know it's not something you want to experience twice. I will—at least. Hell, I may have already experienced that more than twice.

"Are you okay," Sam asked me softly.

"It's just this day," I sighed. "I keep going over everything in my head. I keep reliving it."

"Well, don't," Sam said softly. "You defeated Dan and there's nothing you have to worry about now. We're not going anywhere."

"God, I hope not," I said, fighting back the tears. "I'm scared to death as it is."

"Why," Tucker asked me, confused.

"My dream is approaching," I replied. "It could happen anytime starting in May. I still don't know how I'm going to protect you guys."

"We've told you," Sam cut in. "If we were half ghost, we could protect ourselves."

"And if you're half ghost and it doesn't work, you're dead," I replied. "I keep going over your plan in my head before bed but I still haven't had the dream to tell me how it works out. I've got half a mind to just try it when it happens but it's got me so nervous every time I come to that conclusion. I don't want to die just to prevent you guys from becoming half ghost!"

"We don't want that either," Tucker replied. "You just have to trust us."

"Trust you I do," I replied. "Trust myself or the one who affects you I don't."

"Do you know who affects us," Sam declared.

"Yeah," I replied. "I've dreamed that thing three or four times but I still can't figure out what that illness is or how he gets it. If I could prevent him from getting sick, then I could prevent the dream but at the moment, I don't know what was making him sick!"

"Did it have any symptoms," Sam asked.

"Weakness, slow heart rate, unbearable pain," I listed some of the symptoms. I couldn't remember all of them because I was only watching Sam and Tucker experiencing it and I experiencing it twice. I've had the dream three times. "I wasn't there for the entire illness for some reason with the original dream and the other two dreams I was either in too much pain or had lost the will to live to pay attention."

"What," Sam and Tucker said, their voices soft. They were shocked but the shock was too great to react the way they had wanted to.

"The last dream I had," I replied. "It was eating at me so fast that I just didn't have the will to live. I stopped breathing the minute it struck me and it burned through my reserves in an hour."

"Reserves," Sam asked, confused.

"Do you know more than us," Tucker asked, surprised.

"Did I not tell you guys what I learned about my powers from Vlad," I asked. Upon their looks, I knew I hadn't. "I'm sorry. When I first got back from that week, the last thing I wanted to do was talk about it. I guess now that it's become easier to talk about it, I just don't know what I haven't told you."

"It's easy," Sam said, crossing her arms over the computer chair's back. "Nothing!"

"Next to nothing," I corrected her with a small smile. "Vlad says we have a collected amount of everything that we survive on when we're in ghost form. The reason my heart beats doubly so is because it takes the blood where I'll need it when I'm a ghost. My blood pressure is also elevated because of this. What I'm not sure about is his theory about breathing. I do know one thing, though," I began. I triggered my ghost breath, indicating to my chest. I don't need air in ghost or human form so long as I have the reserves. How much reserve I don't know. Vlad thinks three days.

"That is so weird," Tucker replied. They were hearing me in their heads (maybe. It might be their own voices like it was when I first started hearing voices).

"I've always said whatever you can do in ghost form you can do in human form but I never imagined that," Sam replied. "How long have you went without breathing?"

"A day," I replied, ceasing the ghost breath. "I escaped Vlad and that's the reason it's not two."

"What are you talking about," Tucker said, his eyes going wide.

"Vlad swelled my throat shut so I couldn't breathe," I replied. "When it was time to eat, he wanted to show me how to eat with a swelled throat but I took my food and ran… well, flew." I smiled. "I came back and he punished me."

"Danny," Sam and Tucker said sadly.

"Don't worry about it," I replied. "I've come to terms with most of what happened through that week."

"No wonder you were a nervous wreck," Tucker replied. "I can't believe we didn't see it when you told us the two were the same."

"I'm glad you didn't," I said, holding my head down. "It's took me a long time to accept what happened that week. If you asked me about the thirty-two hours, I'd shut down though."

"It must have been bad," Sam said, her eyes watering. "We don't usually count in hours."

"It was," I replied. "I try not to think about it."

"When you're comfortable with it," Tucker began, looking me in the eye, "we're here."

"I may never be comfortable with it, guys," I said sadly. The best thing that has ever happened to me happened during that thirty-two hours but I can't get past it. Vlad definitely raped me longer on the island when I didn't return to the camper that night but nothing can touch to the intensity of the steps. Nothing can touch going through it for the first time.

"Hey," Sam said softly. "Leave that place, Danny. You've survived."

"I know," I said, looking up. "It's made me stronger, too. I learned so much through that but it was a painful grow."

"What growth isn't painful," Tucker said sadly. "Think about the portal accident. Five minutes changed our lives forever. Five tiny minutes."

"But when you're in there," I replied, "time stands still. It doesn't feel like five minutes. It feels like a moment in time and a lifetime wrapped into one. I guess that's a mixture of my worlds: the moment of a human life and the eternity of a ghost."

"It seems like it's easier for you to talk about the portal accident," Sam replied.

"It is," I replied. "I've finally come to terms with the way my life will be from now on. I'm telling you, things just keep getting weirder. Anymore, living my life as a half dead and half alive person just isn't weird."

"What gets weirder than that," Tucker declared.

"Where do I begin," I groaned. "I've went to sleep and dreamed of the future. I've faced death and survived several times. I defeated the King of All Ghosts, a thirty-three, while I was a twenty-two. I've became the King of All Ghosts. I faced my evil future self and won. I've received a power that my future-self had just developed. I've been to the free clinic. Goodness, I've done so many things that just being between two worlds seems normal."

Sam and Tucker laughed, "I guess I see what you mean."

"Oh, yeah," I declared. "Let's not forget about watching my house get up and walk away!" I started to laugh, "And hearing Phantom cuss his counterpart is still a highlight!"

"What," Sam and Tucker replied and my head snapped up.

"Ut oh," I said, staring at them in horror.

"What do you mean Phantom cussing his counterpart," Sam demanded.

"Would you believe me if I said I meant me," I asked bashfully. I knew they wouldn't. They were with them every minute they were together except when they were on the Roller Coaster.

"No," they declared.

I sighed, "It wasn't really us. When I went through the Ghost Catcher, I made two completely different ghosts and we watched from kind of an observation room. Fun Danny was obsessed with having fun while Super Danny was obsessed with being a superhero." Despite the unease in my stomach, I chuckled, "Phantom was having a hissy fit watching Super Danny go about. He was horrified that he was putting that image out for everyone to see." I laughed harder, "I remember when Super Danny told Technus that luckily he was only half ghost and tried to power down. Phantom started shooting off about exposing the secret right there in front of everyone and what good that would do."

"I always knew something wasn't right… but, I never imagined. I'm so sorry, Danny," Sam replied.

"It wasn't your fault," I said softly. "Neither one of you were at fault. You tried to warn me, Sam. Like always, I didn't listen."

"I just don't get it," Tucker said. "Why are you acting like Phantom is a separate person?"

"He is," I replied. "I hear him all the time." Actually, come to think of it, I haven't heard from him in a long time. The last time I heard from him was when I heard Lilly. Phantom? Are you there?

"Danny," Sam asked me, concerned.

"I haven't heard him in more than a month," I said panicked. "Why haven't I heard from him?"

"Danny, Phantom doesn't exist," Tucker said. "Phantom is you."

"Yeah," I replied. "I know that but he does have a conscious. When I was in the portal, I was too scared to save myself so I created someone who could. He saved me from Freakshow!"

"Danny," Sam said softly. "He's not real. He's you."

"That can't be right," I declared, looking deep within myself. I couldn't find him anywhere. "He said he was leaving," I said softly as I started to think about the last real conversation we had. All he told me was he thought it was a real baby when I found out about Lilly but before that, he told me he was trying to prevent me from becoming more than two personalities. "He did it," I said softly. It was like losing a brother. I stared into nothing as I came to terms with what this meant.

I shifted as Sam and Tucker came onto my bed. "Danny," Sam said softly. "Phantom was just a way to cope. He only existed to help you survive."

"I know that," I said softly. "He pulled me from the portal."

"No," Tucker replied. "You flew out of the portal, Danny. The force of the explosion did that for you."

"You just created Phantom to help yourself," Sam said. "You couldn't deal with the trauma of becoming half ghost so you created someone else to do it."

"But if he wasn't real, how come he left after Thanksgiving," I replied. "He had to be real, guys. He told me right after Freakshow that it was him that Vlad had hurt. He took the blunt of what happened that night."

"He continued to live through you," Sam replied. "Whatever Vlad did to you, you dealt with it by saying it didn't happen to you. You couldn't deal with what Vlad done so you said it didn't happen to me. Phantom was the one hurt."

"Then what about Freakshow," I retorted. "What about when I'd feel myself lose control and someone else would take over. After the Reunion, I was so lost. I didn't know what to do. Look at all the battles through that—the big ones. My normal patrols went by uneventful like always but Spectra affected the entire school! Johnny nearly kidnapped Jazz! Walker was a complete and total failure! I allowed Mom and I to be dragged to the Rocky Mountains with no cell phone, had my powers stolen and two people died because of my failure! I didn't see that Paulina was overshadowed by Kitty or that the C-Crew was making their move. I practically did Vlad's job for him when I made that comment in front of Dad and nearly lost the portal.

"I got cocky fighting Invincible and nearly got killed. I fell asleep during that stupid test and made you guys handle that one alone for majority of the fight! All of that was before Freakshow!"

"You've also made mistakes since then, Danny," Sam replied. "I won't go out to point out your flaws because you're still human and you're entitled to make mistakes. You made mistakes before you went to Wisconsin and you still make mistakes. There's nothing to be ashamed of."

"I just can't accept that he was completely made up," I said sadly. "It's almost as if I'd lost Tucker. He was my brother in so many ways."

"I know," Sam said, hugging me. Tucker hugged me too and I returned their hugs. "It's all right to mourn him, Danny. Just don't dwell on it too long. He helped you."

"Yeah, he did," I said sadly. And I'm certain if he were here now, he'd tell me to stop Vlad from moving back to Wisconsin. I released Sam and Tucker, floating up in the air. I walked over to my computer, taking my seat. "I think I know the perfect pick-me-up!"

"What," Tucker said, walking across my bed and standing behind me. Sam climbed off my bed and made the short pass to stand behind me as well.

I accessed the Paranormal Ghost Hunters website and accessed the satellite. I zoomed into Madison, Wisconsin to see Vlad outside of a house identical to his old castle. He and a man were talking and I assumed it was that Mike guy. I got an evil smirk as I pulled my phone out of my pocket. I pulled up another browser and looked up the Wisconsin division of Guys in White. "Perfect," I declared. They were right there in Madison. "We've got something to do now!"

O_O

The GIW were there within minutes of the construction company leaving. I couldn't see what was happening in the house but I could clearly see what was happening from above. Half the stuff they trashed and the other half they confiscated, clearing the lot in an hour. I watched intently as I knew Vlad would have no choice but to stay in Elemerton.

"Now that is reality TV," Tucker laughed. I joined in with him. Sam had her arms crossed across her chest.

"I bet that'll knock Vlad off his high horse," I chuckled.

"You know these kinds of things always come back to bite you, right," Sam replied.

"What's the worst that could happen," I replied. "I mean, could you imagine what Vlad's face looked like when those idiots busted in on him?"

An explosion occurred behind me and I came to my feet, resisting the urge to power up. It was loud enough for Mom and Dad to hear it. The Guys in White had their guns pointed at us, "No body move! This is a raid!"

"I think I have a pretty good idea," Sam said, not paying attention to our intruders.

This is adding insult to injury. I'm these morons boss! How dare they attack this place? "What the hell do you think you're doing," I demanded.

"We are investigating a tip," one of the guys said. They supposedly have letters for names just like the movie Men in Black staring Tommy Lee Jones and Will Smith but I'm not so sure I believe that one.

Men from the back started swarming my room, smashing my things to smithereens. I was furious but deep down, I knew I deserved this. Once again, Sam tried to warn me but I chose to ignore her. Sometimes, God gives you a guardian angel to help you make the right choices but you just chose to ignore her. I was crying the name of the latest victim to their assault, like 'my bed! My dresser! My desk!' and so forth but one of the guys went to destroy my television beside my door right when my dad opened the door. "My dad!"

"Danny, what on Earth is going on in here," Mom demanded as she came in.

"Stand down, Fenton's," the other guy demanded. "We're the law around here!"

"The Guys in White are trashing our house," Dad stated in shock. "They're my heroes," he said sarcastically.

"Our Intel stays you're harboring ghost fugitives," the first one remarked. "We're shutting you down: lock, stock and ghost lab!"

"Oh, no you are not," Dad declared. "You'll get to my lab over my-."

The Guys in White raised their weapons. I was about to say something when Sam (along with Dad mentioning he forgot how the rest of that went) cut me off. "Do you guys have a warrant?"

"Warrant," they both laughed.

"Laugh it up boys but your code says you cannot search private property without a search warrant unless extravagant circumstances supersedes the judge or magistrate."

The other guy started laughing, repeating Sam's saying.

"Save it, K," the main one replied. I'll be damned, they do go by letters. "We don't even know what that means." He looked to my parents, "You dodged a bullet this time. Next time you won't be so lucky!" The entire team exited our house, leaving my room in teeters and a giant gaping hole in my wall.

"I'm really glad you're up on their anti-ghost laws, Sam," I smiled at her. I knew mine but I hadn't ever considered looking into theirs.

"No problem," Sam said, looking around my room. My parents had followed the GiW out. "But they really did a number on your room."

"Yeah," I sighed, "and I don't think they acted alone."

"We're going to have to do something about that hole," Tucker remarked. "Not even you could sleep in a room like that."

"It's going to take a while," I sighed. However, Sam and Tucker's faces lit up. "And you guys want to stay at the headquarters while I'm repairing it."

"Please," they both said, drawing it out.

"Why are you asking me," I asked. "I'm not your parents?"

"Who cares about them," Sam scoffed. "Mom and Dad wouldn't even notice if I wasn't in my room."

"What about you, Tuck," I replied. "I can't say I'm staying with you because Mom will call Mom. I can't say I'll be staying with Sam for that long. My parents wouldn't believe it. What are we going to do about that?"

"Why are you worried about it now," Tucker asked. "You never worried about it before."

"True," I sighed. "I guess."

"Yes," they both declared. I smiled as well. I liked everything about staying at HQ except Sam and Tucker staying out with me. I'm afraid they'll get hurt.

O_O

Patrol was the same old same old and I was growing bored. When I'm bored, I start getting creative. When I get creative, I get into trouble. "What do you say we have a round two with Vlad?"

"You still haven't learned your lesson," Sam scoffed.

"Oh, come on," I sighed. "I'll take the consequences. I just don't want this to end this way. I like leaving things on a high note!"

"Okay," Sam sighed. "But you will have to face those consequences."

"I say to hell with the consequences and let's have fun," Tucker declared. "Danny can come up with some wickedly cool pranks!"

I opened their minds. "Let's go," I declared.

O_O

We were in the Specter Speeder and I was navigating the way using the radar. Sure enough, there was my brown dot and another brown dot in Wisconsin. Vlad was still in Madison. When we made it to the area he was at, Tucker parked the Speeder while I grabbed the Fentonfones and phased out of the vehicle. I allowed my feeling to guide me to him and attached to his wall. I waited until I heard the choppers swirling. Right on time.

I turned the wall invisible, Vlad ranting in his normal way and unaware of the scene unfolding. He's on television and he doesn't even know it. Surprising how he hasn't sensed me yet. Time to up the ante… and maybe get a little pay off. I turned a small portion of the wall intangible, allowing the wind from the helicopters to rip through his hotel room. This got his attention and I heard him declare my name. Now he senses me.

His towel loosened around his waist, exposing him right to me. I only allowed so much airtime to play out before I limited how much of the wall was invisible. That's mine after all. "You okay, Danny," I heard Sam call in my ear.

"Never better," I declared, looking Vlad over. I hadn't realized how horny I was until now. "An invisible wall! Top that, Plasmius!" I killed the invisibility and flew back to the Specter Speeder. I would get him worked up and we'd make the best love we'd ever made.

Outside of Amity Park, the footage of the invisible wall disappeared like it always does. However, in Amity Park it was a popular segment. Vlad was well known in our corner of the world so a story about him being attacked by a pranking ghost was hilarious. No one thought twice about it. Some ghost just decided to play a prank on the billionaire from Madison. However, what they never assumed was their perfect little angel Phantom was the one who pranked him. What can I say? I do have a little devil in me!

For once we could make it through school without so much attention. They had something else occupying the tiny spaces between their ears. After school, I allowed Sam and Tucker to fly the furthest they've ever flown on their own. We went to Mount Vernon in Jefferson County to shop for some things for my room. We kept to the back roads and turned invisible inside the city limit. After a little shopping, we worked on my room. I took this time to make some changes to my room. I knocked the wall of my closet out and made room for my nursery. I don't know what I'm going to do but, regardless, I will need that extra space.

I wasn't putting my new furniture in my room yet because Mom and Dad had to repair my wall. The walls of this house was specially made so they had to do everything from scratch. Mom's been furious ever since yesterday and hasn't stopped cussing the GiW. They just might get canned for this little stunt.

O_O

Before we headed back, I was going over something in my head. I know today's the anniversary of the portal accident but I wanted to do something today. Sam and Tucker trailed behind me, at a loss. I walked the floors, trying to figure it out. When I made it to the basement, it jumped out at me. "The ecto-filtrator," I declared. "It's been three months!"

"What," Sam asked.

"It's been three months since Plasmius put that bounty on me," I declared. "I wanted to change the ecto-filtrator every three months to prevent a mishap like last time." I went to the cabinet and removed a new filtrator to replace the old one with. I typed in 1 into the keypad and it opened up. I swapped the filtrators.

"Isn't that a little overkill," Sam said, crossing her arms.

"You didn't see that simulation," I replied, "or know how close it came. The King was the second time I was on the business end of a very bad countdown of death."

"Well, let's go on patrol," Sam replied. "You've averted disaster."

"This isn't disaster," I remarked. "When it's counting down, then it's disaster."

O_O

Of all the rotten times to be horny. With us staying at HQ, Sam and Tucker are spending every waking moment with me except for the two periods we don't have together. Maybe during eighth period I'll go give Vlad a visit. I was trying not to fall asleep as Mr. Fuluka taught Math but it was desperately hard… much like something else. I wonder if this is normal or did I just get turned on when I saw him naked? Maybe I'll check that book. It was packed full of information.

I made it through Spanish and lunch uneventfully but Gym was another situation. I always take my shower last because I've feared of being caught with the toned muscles. However, since I've started to show in the past week, I've been taking mine even later than Tucker. It's only going to get worse, after all. The upperclassmen were starting their lunches and that's where Sam and Tucker usually wait for me so we can go to Home Ec. together. I heard the laughing and the gasps and the snickering and the whoops but I always hear them. What I didn't expect to hear was Sam: "Danny!"

I looked up to see that the wall I was certain was there earlier had vanished. "Oh, no," I cried, covering my privates with one hand and my stomach with the other. If I had three hands, I swear I'd cover my breasts.

"A ghost kid with tan lines," Tucker remarked, "who knew?"

Like he's not seen me. I backed away, grabbing my towel. I should have known. Don't dish it unless you can take it. But why didn't I sense him? I'm always aware when he comes around. As I grabbed my jeans and shirt and disappeared from view, I saw the brown feathers of the pesky little vultures. "That little rat," I declared, jumping in my underwear. Out of everyone's sights, I phased into my clothes, going back into the lion's den. I put my hand on the wall and it went through it. Intangibility. The guys were laughing and the girls were sighing but I ignored them. I jumped through the wall: "You!"

"I think it's our time to go," one of the vultures said to the other. Only two of them were there.

"You won't be getting away from me that easily," I replied, grabbing them by their necks. Half the wall became solid again as one of the birds were ripped away from the wall. I grabbed the second one, swinging him until he was disoriented and lost his intangibility. I threw him into the other one, running after them. They ran but I was faster. With no one around, I shot a beam at both of them. Once outside, I transformed and grabbed both of them in my hands.

"Unhand us, child," the leader declared.

"You can tell Vlad that if he ever pulls that again, I will do him the same way," I declared, throwing them out. I shot out two steams of ectoplasm, trapping them inside of it and electrocuting them. I released them from my shock, sending two more beams, these ones with kick. It was just as if the birds had a rocket launcher on their asses. They screamed as they soared into the sky. "And don't come back!"

O_O

Any thoughts of sex vanished as I had to endure the next two periods. The last period, the one I had planned on skipping just a few hours ago, was the worse. I sunk in my seat, listening to the teacher trying to gain control. None of these kids had seen the incident but that didn't stop them from experiencing it. Some of the upperclassmen had snapped some pictures. I appreciated the ones the guys took because it was more wide-shot. The ones the girls took, you couldn't even tell it was me. There were a few shots of my toning but most of them had took pictures of my crotch. It was humiliating.

At least I only exposed Vlad for a few seconds except for me. To think I ever wanted to make love to him again. I crossed my arms, grunting. He'd be lucky to see me at all.

Sam and Tucker were sympathetic towards me but there was nothing they could do. When patrol started up, Sam and Tucker offered not to go to the Nasty Burger. I couldn't do that. I had to hold my ground. Besides, the Nasty Burger was a perfect place to start patrol. It was in the center of the business district. If the ghosts attacked anywhere, it was where there were crowds.

I was about to bite into my Nasty Burger when someone grabbed it. I looked up shocked to see the GiW again. Why are these guys back? "This is an evacuation," the main one declared. "Everyone out!"

"For what," I declared, removing my hamburger from his hands. "I paid for this!"

"By order of the new owner," he replied, stealing my hamburger again, "and you'll be refunded."

"New owner," I asked, confused.

"That's right, Daniel," Vlad said. I jumped up as I heard his voice. How the hell? Why didn't I sense him? "As the new proprietor of this place, it is my duty to destroy it. It has Ectobestos after all."

"What," I declared. "There's no such thing!"

"Oh, well," Vlad smiled at me. I glared back at him.

"Can I at least have my hamburger," I asked.

"No," Vlad replied. "I'll take you and your friends out for a healthier alternative."

"Shove off," I said, passing him on my way out. I wanted to leave but I just couldn't. This was the very building where my entire family was killed. I don't know whether I should rejoice in its destruction or cry.

"Thee, two, one," the main GiW counted down. "Demolish!" Finally, the wrecking ball swung through the building. There was hardly anything left after just one swing.

"Let this be a lesson, Danny," Vlad said, bending down to my ear. "I put the Pro in Quid-Pro-Quo—not that you're bright enough to know what that means."

I so don't know what that is, but, "I get the picture," I declared. "And I don't like it! This isn't over, Plasmius!"

"Oh, goody," Vlad said. "I do so love being the challenger." We disappeared back to HQ. I did not want to put up with his crap.

O_O

After patrol, I returned home to release the ghosts. I allowed Mom to keep a dozen a day but that was it. She wanted the full amount but the ghosts I deal with were dangerous. She was still happy with the number she got so she rarely caused me any grief about 'going out'. Mom knew that I was ghost hunting (and so did Dad for that matter) but she knew that I was staying somewhere at night. I never gave her a definitive answer, choosing to instead say that I'd decide later depending on my mood.

Over the next three days, nothing big really happened. Mom and Dad kept working on my wall, we were staying at the headquarters and Sam and Tucker were with me every minute of the day except for one hour and thirty minutes when they went to the two classes I didn't have with them. On Monday, we did have an issue when we discovered a mummy ghost on a field trip. Tucker got a case of big headedness again and I had to put his ego back in check. This was taking place on the school elections which is one day before town elections. Dash was elected president of the tenth grade for next year.

On Tuesday, my room was finally finished. That didn't please Sam and Tucker but I was happy to have my room ready. As I explained to them, I still had to add furniture. I was about to head out to patrol and had stopped to tell Mom and Dad I was leaving when Dad cut me off.

"It's election day, Daniel, and I've got my votin' shoes on," Dad replied. I stopped my hurried response to walk over. Faster than I thought was humanly possible, Dad had decked me out in some kind of garb. I looked down at my chest to read a pin.

"Vlad Masters for mayor," I declared in shock.

Mom sighed disapprovingly. "He's a last minute write in candidate. At least this way he's redirecting his sociopathic lonely batchelorhood into something positive but he doesn't care about other people!"

"And that's why he'll make a great politician," Dad declared. Well, at least he knows it.

I removed the propaganda I had written all over me, throwing in into the floor. Suddenly, I heard Vlad's voice and turned in the direction of the TV, "… I hope to breathe new life into this town!"

"That's my Vlad. Breathing life and taking names," Dad declared. "Go Vladdy!"

"I've got to go," I declared, running towards the living room. I transformed, blasting up through the roof. It was the safest way to go. "They say you can't fight city hall but they never said you couldn't fight in it!"

O_O

I waited impatiently for Vlad to finish his interview. I was just below his feet, intangible. I couldn't feel him and he couldn't feel me, I'm sure. I'm almost positive that this was because we were getting used to it. The lack of personal touch probably played a factor. When haven't I been with Vlad before we became a couple and he wasn't raping me? I'd say it's safe to say that if we interacted actively again, we could feel each other again.

"And those were beauty marks," Vlad remarked.

"That's debatable," the reporter remarked. She left, finally allowing me some alone time with my sweetie pie.

I reached my hands up, grabbing his ankle and phased him through the floor. His cries of surprise was all the answer I needed to answer my question from earlier. He in fact did not sense me.

"Daniel," Vlad replied in a calm voice. "Come to wish your sweetheart good luck, have we?"

"Save it, Plasmius," I declared. "Whatever you're doing, it ends now! This has gone on long enough."

"Oh, I assure you it is just beginning," he replied. He transformed into Plasmius but I treated entering the mayoral race as his first attack. I hit him first. I stared in shock as I saw how far my hit sent him. Sure, I put more effort into that hit than I normally do but, dang, it's usually because he requires more force.

"Wow, Plasmius is a little rusty," I said. "Which is all the invitation I need." He's gone soft in the last few months. He hasn't done anything since the King!

I tossed him around a bit, adding some witty banter as I went along. He was just too easy. "Man," I declared, "You have lost your edge. Why don't you go back home and look for it?"

"Fool," Vlad declared, causing me to float backwards a little. "Do you really think I'm this weak? I'm more powerful than you could even imagine. Even now my power increases! Look!"

I looked in the direction he pointed and these formless black Plasmius-cutouts were everywhere. Were they all duplicates? They descended towards the earth and I watched in horror as they started to overshadow the voters. I was for a complete loss. What could I do to stop this? There were just too many of them. Even if I expelled a few, I couldn't possibly stop them all. I'm defenseless against this attack.

Vlad chuckled cruelly. I heard my dad below, declaring, "Move out of my way! I'm voting for Vlad." A Plasmius look-a-like entered in my Dad, and he repeated himself.

No! "Dad," I cried, taking to the air. Plasmius smacked me, and because I was startled I hit the brick wall. I crashed through it, hitting a car and bending it in half. Vlad descended on me, his full power returning. I screamed, diving out of the way.

"What is it you young folk say," Vlad said. "Don't hate, congratulate." He chuckled again, "Oh, what do I care? Go ahead and hate!"

Vlad powered down and moments later, the reporters and the voters surrounded him. They all started to chant his name, Dad in the lead. The reporter started asking him some questions. I glared at Vlad but knew there was nothing I can do. Even if I took matters in my own hands and redid the election, what's not to say Vlad wouldn't repeat the procedure. Vlad is going to be our new mayor. And I thought Montez was bad.

O_O

I so did not want to go to his acceptance speech that night after all the results had come in but Dad dragged the entire family to Vlad's headquarters. I knew he was going to win and that's why I called it an acceptance speech and not a final results reading. The other three candidates didn't have a prayer unless a hell of a lot of people early voted like Mom did.

Sam and Tucker had tagged along to support me but there was little they could do. I did appreciate their company, though. After the reporter on the television told me what I already knew, Vlad began his acceptance speech. He looked directly at me, "Now I'd like to take the time to thank a very special person in my life; someone who has helped me get where I am today. Come up here, Danny Fenton," he declared. I thought the world stopped or I killed over. This was not only in front of hundreds of people, it was being broadcasted into thousands of homes.

Dad gave me a push, sending me towards Vlad. Vlad put his hands on my shoulder and I nearly froze at the familiar feeling of him claiming me again. Vlad started to give a speech aloud but he was also giving one to me in his head. I was hearing his voice twice, one telling me how I was the one who made this mess and the other telling everyone how he will protect this town's greatest resource: the children. I have been doing well in the multitasking department but I don't think I could ever do that.

_There's a lot that you can't do_, Vlad said smugly. _I really do need to thank you. I never realized that this was my true passion. I get to rule and I get to make your life miserable. Two for the price for one!_

I don't get you, I said, feeling my world spin out of control. There was so much going on today. Something as simple as preventing you from going back to Wisconsin has created this. I know I went too far, Vlad, but you went further. I could never forgive you for this.

_Who says I'm looking for your forgiveness_, Vlad replied. I felt my windpipes constrict. _You're not coming back. I've come to realize this. I was a fool for ever thinking that you could love me. I should have never freed you._

But I did love you, I said, my breathing becoming labored. I don't any more. "Sam, Tucker," I said, trying to catch my breath. "Get me out of here."

Sam and Tucker pulled away from the crowd in an instant, directing me outside. Even in the fresh air, I couldn't catch my breath. "Danny," Sam said, completely panicked. "Calm down!"

"This isn't happening," I said, leaning against my knees. "Why is this happening?" I was hyperventilating and I didn't know what to do.

"You did everything you could," Tucker said softly.

"I'm going to have to fight him tooth and nail," I said on the verge of tears. "I don't know if I'm that strong."

"You're the strongest person I know," Sam smiled at me. They had no idea the turmoil I was feeling. I find out Vlad was planning on moving back to Wisconsin, then all that happened at school on top of the two weeks before that, then Vlad destroys the Nasty Burger, then he overshadows the voters… all of this right after Tucker nearly got corrupted by an evil mummy ghost bent on destroying him. It was too much!

"I never thought it could cause this much trouble," I said, breathing rapidly. "I never thought the consequences could be this severe." I wasn't just talking about the town. I think Vlad is going to try to rape me again.

"No one did," Tucker declared. "Danny, you can't beat yourself up over this. Vlad is a bastard-," Tucker began.

"No," I declared. "Don't you dare call him that," I retorted. I was carrying his child. I wouldn't let Tucker or Sam bad mouth him.

"Okay," Tucker said, hiding his true feeling of confusion.

"Let's go back to HQ," Sam replied. "Maybe there you can catch your breath."

"Maybe," I said. I hoped so.

O_O

I managed to get myself under control on Wednesday and by Thursday, I thought I had died and went to heaven. One minute I was fighting a ghost and the next I was nominated to judge a beauty contest. With all the girls wanting me to pick them, everyone was paying attention to me. I couldn't believe it either because I had gained almost ten pounds in one week. My baggy clothes were starting to fill out. I wouldn't be able to fit in the clothes I wore before the accident.

On Friday, things were getting weirder with the ghosts but the attention from the girls made me worry less. I was still worried but I knew I could probably figure this out on Sunday or Monday. After all, they were all alike. Meaning they were from the same realm. Only on rare occasions does that mean a bigger issue.

Saturday was the pageant and I knew that my window of popularity was coming to a close. I wasn't even paying attention to Sam the last few days and once again I found out she was right. Why am I surprised any more? Tuck and I saved Sam although she probably could have done it on her own. However, something inside me started acting up after the big black dragon flattened me on the ground. I thought I was just experiencing a little pain but it was growing worse. With it being the sixth week anniversary of Dan, he escaped the thermos again. I was in enough pain before Clockwork showed up that night but the added stress of Dan did not help issues.

I squirmed in my bed all night Saturday but I couldn't lessen the pain. Deep contractions rocked my abdomen and exited down through my legs. My uterus would bunch up and cause me great discomfort. I tried breathing but it didn't help anything. I threw my covers off the bed and stood up slowly. I went to the bathroom but the minute I pulled my pants down, my heart sank. My underwear, despite the efforts of the maxipad I put in, was covered in blood.

I rushed back to the bedroom as fast as I could, grunting because of the extra force I put into walking. I picked up my cell phone, dialing Dr. Reynolds's number. I may have a hospital in Pariah's Keep but I trust Dr. Reynolds more. "I need help," I said. "I think I'm in preterm labor!"

"Where are you," she replied, a disturbance in the background.

"Home," I said, groaning. "Please, I beg you. She can't be born yet! I'm only twenty-three weeks along!"

"I'm on my way," she replied. "I know it's scary but you need to remain calm. Keep breathing, remain calm and don't push!"

"Hurry," I moaned. I closed the phone, tears prickling at my eyes. I've put my daughter at risk. I've allowed my lifestyle to endanger my child. This is all my fault.

**AN: I'd love to get some feedback!**


	15. Chapter 15

**Disclaimer: I don't own Danny Phantom, Reality Trip, Double Cross My Heart, Micro-Management or Flirting With Disaster.**

**Warning: This story contains reference to rape, sexual content, male sex and pedophilia. If any of this disturbs you, please do not read.**

**Chapter 15: Touch and Go**

Time proceeded very slowly as I waited for Dr. Reynolds. I tried to remain calm and keep breathing but I could feel the urge to push. My back had pain shooting up it just like when Vlad would put his penis in my sensitive area. I screamed out for the first time, feeling the pain shooting. My silent proof walls weren't on so I knew my family could hear me if I got too loud. I tried to remain calm and not scream but I just couldn't.

Jazz was the first one through the door but she wasn't alone. I screamed again, pressing my hands against my bed. Tears streaked down my face as I felt my daughter slipping away from me. I had to stop the labor. I took deep breaths but breathing alone wouldn't stop her. I needed medication.

"Danny," Mom screamed. "What's the matter? What's going on?"

"Is the front door unlocked," I screamed out, trying to keep my words coherent.

"I think so," Jazz answered me. Mom and Dad could care less but Jazz knows I'm asking for a reason. I screamed again, feeling the pressure on my sensitive spot.

"Please, no. Just hang in there, please," I begged. My entire body was wracking with contractions and I was sweating from the heat.

"What is going on," Mom replied. "Talk to me!"

"You don't know," I said, breathing hard. "I-I've called Dr. Reynolds. They're on the way."

"They're not touching you," Mom declared.

"I will die," I declared through a scream. I let out a louder one, my tears coming out stronger. It hurt like I've never imagined. I've been raped, nearly killed, tortured and cut with Ectoranium but nothing has hurt like this. I cried harder as I felt another contraction coming on. "Please, please, please! Not yet. Please not yet."

"Tell us what is happening," Jazz cried. "Maybe we could help before Dr. Reynolds gets here."

"There's nothing you can do," I grunted. "I don't know how to stop it or I would have already. I'm too early!"

"Too early," Mom declared, surprised. "I don't understand. What are you too early about? What is happening?"

I screamed out again, the contractions seconds apart. I knew Lilly would be born any minute if Dr. Reynolds didn't get here soon. Downstairs, I heard the door open in a hurry. I screamed out again, partly in pain and partly in hopes of creating a land marker. I heard heavy footsteps.

"Out," Dr. Reynolds declared. "Now! I need all the room I can get. People, get those dressers and chairs out of here. We've got to work fast."

"I think I'm fully dilated," I said, not caring that my family was still in the room. I didn't have time to worry about exposure.

"It's all right, Danny," Dr. Reynolds replied. "I'm here now. You know you can do this."

"No, I can't," I cried. "She's too early! She'll die!"

"You can't keep focusing on stopping this," she replied. "You just need to calm down. If you're calm, you will stop naturally." A nurse hooked up the ultrasound machine and started to do a scan. Lilly was really low in the uterus and she was completely still. "Give me the Doppler!"

They hooked up the Doppler machine and Dr. Reynolds used it to hear the heartbeat. I didn't hear anything. "Oh, God," I said, my breath catching in my throat. "Does that mean…"

"It doesn't mean anything," she replied, determined. "Her heart has been beating for six months. She's been breathing of several weeks. She can have a reserve!"

I started to cry harder as I thought of losing my baby. I should have been taking care of myself. I should have been more careful. Dr. Reynolds started me on an IV drip.

"Have you been eating," she asked me.

"Yes," I replied. "I always make sure I eat, no matter if I want to or not. It's not an option anymore."

"What about fluids? Have you been drinking plenty of water," she asked me.

"More than usual," I replied. "I have been thirsty and then there's the fact that I empty my bladder twice as often as I used to."

"How would you rate your pain," she asked me.

"Now, a six. Before you came, there's not enough numbers in the world. It hurt more than anything I've ever felt."

"It makes sense," she replied. "Just relax. Breathe deeply and remain calm. Do not push if you get the urge and tell me right away."

"Am I going to deliver her," I asked, my heart sinking.

"I don't think so but we'll monitor her just in case."

"Don't tell my parents," I begged. "I don't know how you're going to get around this but I don't want them to know. I'll come up with something that they'll know I'm totally lying about."

"You need to tell them," she replied. "Babies don't exactly have off switches. What are you going to do when she's born?"

"I haven't figured that out yet," I sighed. "Just, please. If I have to tell them, I should be the one to do it."

"That I agree with you about," she replied. "Just remain calm."

O_O

As the sun came up, I was resting peacefully. Dr. Reynolds had put me on some medications and had put so much of it in me that even my powers couldn't clear it from my system like normal. I still hadn't felt Lilly move or heard a heart beat on the monitor. I know if I wasn't doped up, I would be freaking. Mom was the first to come in.

"How are you," Mom asked me.

"A little dopy," I said, smacking my lips. "Can you give me some of that water?"

"Sure," she replied. I took a sip of the water. "What happened, Danny," Mom asked me, placing the water back on the table.

"I have a bizarre medical condition," I replied. "I can't… I don't really want to tell you the specifics but I was having an attack of the worse kind."

Both Dad and Jazz's visits went about the same way. I asked Jazz not to tell Sam and Tucker about my attack. I knew they would be over soon but they didn't have to know the severity about the condition. Most of the doctors and nurses had went home but about five of them remained. I was in good hands but, unfortunately, the rest was up to Lilly. She had to come back on her own. The stress did a number on her. I did this to my own daughter.

O_O

Sam and Tucker did come over in the early morning. I was still hooked to all the machines when they arrived so my plan to keep this from them went out the window. I did manage to keep the details from them but if anyone can find this out, it would be them two.

Around noon, the heartbeat came online. By four, she was stable. "I want to transfer you to a hospital," Dr. Reynolds replied.

"What," Sam, Tucker, Jazz and I declared.

"Not a regular hospital," she retorted. "Your hospital. You need bed rest and fluids. The best way you can do that is with a full staff and a place large enough to accommodate you."

"What is their hospital," Mom asked, her voice considerably mellow compared to the past.

"It's in the Ghost Zone," I replied. "It's not really mine. It's the ghost boy's. I can't go there!"

"You're darn right you can't go there," Mom declared. "He nearly died and now you're trying to send him to the ghost boy!" There went the mellowness. I had to say that. I couldn't let her know that I was the owner of ghost property. It's preposterous!

"Well, the clinic isn't big enough to accommodate him," Dr. Reynolds replied. "Do you have any suggestions?"

"As a matter of fact, I do," Mom replied. She gave me a gentle kiss on the forehead, "I'll be right back."

A few minutes later, she returned with a stretcher. They loaded me on the transfer equipment and took me down to the lab. Mom had the medical tent deployed.

"Holy cow," Dr. Reynolds declared.

"This big enough," Mom retorted. Of course it was. You could treat Pearl Harbor in this tent!

O_O

I don't ever remember sleeping so much. Even with the King, I only slept occasionally after I was conscious again. I wasn't unconscious here, I was just so tired. Dr. Reynolds stayed by my side the entire time but the other four personnel interchanged to allow a refreshing. I tried to get Dr. Reynolds to go home and get some sleep but she refused. I don't know what it is but she has taken over the role as my mom. It's not that I want another one… I guess she could be Mom number five. The portal is number four.

After several hours of sleeping and monitoring, my family were now the ones sleeping. Mom had her head rested on Dad's shoulder as Dad slept restlessly in the chairs they had brought down. Sam slept in a chair, her head laying against my shoulder. Tucker was maybe three feet below her, resting by my legs. Jazz was only a few feet across from Sam, resting in the chair parallel with my head. The four personnel were going through my results while Dr. Reynolds was resting her eyes. She wasn't asleep. She refused to sleep.

I was watching my family sleep soundly when I saw something out of the corner of my eye. I looked to my left, seeing Vlad standing by the bed. My heart leaped but he put his finger to his mouth. _I'm not here to hurt you_, Vlad thought.

What are you doing here, I asked sharply.

_You weren't on patrol and I was worried_, Vlad answered, his voice soft. _This was my doing, wasn't it. I put too much stress on you._

I don't know who's to blame, I said conflicted. I never meant for things to get as out of control as they did. I didn't want you going back to Wisconsin. I came by the house Monday and I picked up the phone when your contractor called. I saw the room and I thought you were still holding out. I wanted things to go back to the way they were.

Tears were flooding my eyes as I thought these things. I tried not to make a sound because the staff from the clinic would hear it if I did. Plus, Sam and Tucker were right beside me.

_It was all fun and games to me too but I let my competitive side get in the way_, Vlad answered me. _When I sent those ghost hunters to your house, I sent them to only your room so that you would have to stay with me until your room got back in order. Then you turned my wall invisible and I decided I was going show everyone at your school what I had and know they could never have it. I couldn't just stop there, though. I couldn't just call it even and move on. I had to beat you at your own game and I'm so sorry, Daniel._

When you were giving your acceptance speech, why did you say that? It made me think that you were going to rape me again. I was so scared.

_I thought about it_, Vlad answered. _I know you knew. I even told you that I shouldn't have released you. I was bitter, Daniel. After everything we've been through, after everything that I've tried to get you to see; I just couldn't wrap my head around the fact that it's your choice. I want you back. I'd do anything to get you back but I can't force you. You're not the type to be told what to do._

I saw a glimpse of what could happen when I was in that bedroom. Vlad, I can't do this on my own. I'll be in tenth grade when Lilly is born! How can I juggle school, ghost attacks and raising a child as a single parent? I need you to be there but I can't have the crazy Vlad that was here when he overshadowed all the voters! I can't have our daughter subjected to that kind of treatment. She cannot be around this kind of home environment. Neither can she be around this kind of home environment. For three weeks, Vlad, we've broken up four times but only made the make-up official twice. What am I going to tell our daughter?

_We'll tell her the truth_, Vlad replied. _Lilly doesn't have to be kept in the dark. She can know what kind of life we live. She's hardly normal but she will be perfect. The kind of species that was always meant to exist. We will raise her to be a powerful, smart and beautiful young woman. She will know everything her birth represents. She will know that though she may have come from unfavorable circumstances, she was brought into this world under the best available. She will be welcomed with the strongest love this world has ever known. Gods of the universe._

I shook my head at him though I was smiling. Okay, I'm just going to say this once: rocker, center, stay! We are not Gods of the universe. She will not be a perfect species. She will be perfect in our eyes but that's as far as it goes. We are not some kind of God's creation to perfect the human species. We were accidents that mustn't be repeated.

_The Halfa race is what humans were always meant to be. Think about it, Daniel. Five minutes in a portal and an imperfect human can turn into a perfect life form._

I'm hardly perfect, I retorted. In fact, I take imperfection to new levels.

_You are the best thing that has ever happened to me_, Vlad said, stroking my face. I closed my eyes, allowing the touch to penetrate to my soul. _Your mother is starting to wake up. I've got to go. _Vlad leaned down, gently stroking my lips with his. I returned the kiss, inhaling his taste. _I love you._

I love you too, I replied. Just, please, don't do anything stupid like that again.

_I won't make any promises but this: I will do everything in my power to protect you, even from myself. Goodbye, love._

Goodbye, Froot Loop. Vlad's eyes lit up in a laugh as he teleported out.

_Get well, Little Badger._

O_O

I missed three days of school so that meant Sam, Tuck and Jazz did too. I kept thinking about what Vlad said and about what was going on. We came so close to losing her. After my first day of school on Thursday, I went to Elemerton. I walked in the house, going into the baby's bedroom. I picked up that same teddy bear in a tutu I held before all this happened. Tears were flooding my eyes as I came to a realization but I knew this was what had to happen. I carried the bear with me as I touched the baby clothes. On the crib was a powder pink baby blanket. I picked it up as the tears flowed more quickly.

"Daniel," Vlad's voice came from behind me. I turned around, his form blurry from the tears. "What's the matter? Is Lilly okay?"

"Yeah," I said, my voice breaking. "We need to talk."

"What is it," Vlad said, crossing the floor to take my hands in his. "Did something happen that I don't know about?"

"Yeah," I said, coming into his chest. "Vlad, I love you. I really love you," I said looking up, "and I want to spend the rest of my life with you. I want to give you that child you never thought you could have but I can't do that if this continues." I pulled back to look at him. "I can't protect our child if I'm constantly stressed. This kind of environment isn't healthy for me or Lilly." I reached my hand up to stroke his face: "This isn't goodbye," I said. "I'm doing this for us. I can't protect Lilly if we're constantly fighting. I want to believe that this time will be different but I've thought that every time."

"What are you saying," Vlad said, his own eyes filling with tears.

"I want a separation," I said. "Just a temporary one. Just until Lilly is born. After that, we will begin again, doing it the right way."

"But I thought you wanted this," Vlad said, a tear slipping down his face.

"I do," I said, putting emphasis on the fact that I still do. "I'm doing this for our daughter, Vlad. I'm doing this for us. Just please, give me some time. Don't come around. Don't try to make me change my mind. After my surgery, I'll bring us home. We'll finally be a family."

"I-I don't understand," Vlad said, taking my arms in his hands. "You want to break up to keep us together. That doesn't make any sense, Daniel."

"I know," I replied. "But it is the only thing I know to do. I can't go through what I went through last weekend. We won't survive. Dr. Reynolds and I have already designed my birth plan. I'll be having a C-section. As soon as Lilly is born, I will come back and I will give my heart to you fully."

"But what do we do for the remainder of your pregnancy. You're only twenty-four weeks," Vlad declared.

"I have another three months to go," I explained. "I know it is a long time to wait but this is for our child. Can you do this for her?"

"I would do anything for her," Vlad said softly. "I would do anything for you."

"Thank you," I said, wrapping my arms around his neck. "I love you. I really do and I always will. This is not goodbye. It's just a vacation."

I kissed him, Vlad putting full passion into it. I gave him myself one last time until the baby was born. We spent all evening together right up until patrol. Finally, I had to leave. I told him again that this wasn't goodbye and I would see him again. Then, I left.

O_O

All through patrol I just couldn't focus. My heart had shattered and making that decision has thus been the hardest one I've ever made. Vlad had done nothing wrong since that night in the medical tent and I felt awful for punishing him. It wasn't his fault that I can't manage the stress of my daily life but for some reason, he's the one who has to suffer. I ended my late night patrol just after midnight, crying in my pillow. I tried to keep the stress minimal but this breakup was so much more different than before. Before, it was just like Vlad moved away. This felt like he died.

I managed to gain more ground on Friday. I was slowly coming to terms with my decision but it was a really painful slow process. Because I could only suffer when I was alone, I had to go through periods of fake happiness or contentment. Only when I was alone could I behave the way I felt. After my late night patrol, I was crying myself to sleep again when I heard a soft tapping. I listened for the begs to proceed but I didn't hear anyone else. I rolled over to see Vlad floating outside my window.

I opened the window, quickly wiping the tears so that he wouldn't see them. "What are you doing here," I asked, my voice breaking. "I asked you to leave me alone."

"I can't," Vlad said. "It's different this time. You're not mad at me. I can't give you space just because you think it will protect the baby. We can make this work. Please, don't leave me."

"Vlad," I said, feeling the tears bubble.

"Listen to me," Vlad begged. "I will never do that again. I can't do this alone, Daniel. I need someone to help me. I need you!"

"And I need a break," I cried. "I can't do anything about the ghosts because as long as my town is in danger, I will always come it's rescue but I can eliminate the stress in certain areas. This is one such place!"

"Then move to the island with me," Vlad begged. "We'll just pick up and leave. No stress, no worries, just our family."

"I have more than our family too," I replied. "Sam, Tuck, Jazz, Mom and Dad are still my family. How can I just abandon them?"

"We all leave our old families, Danny," Vlad said. "I left my parents. We all grow up and leave those we love. This is natural."

"But I'm not an adult," I declared. "Do you think if I just leave, Mom will forget me? She will scour this planet over for me."

"Then we can take them," Vlad said, changing his attitude. "We'll tell your parents the truth and tell your friends about us and Lilly and we'll live happily ever after. Please, let's do it."

"I can't," I said softly. "I have my entire town to protect. What am I going to do about the ghosts, Vlad? Just leave my town here defenseless? That's not who I am and if you are asking me to do this, then maybe you don't know me as well as I thought you did."

"What do you want me to do," Vlad declared. "Take the entire town to the island!"

"Just give me the space," I said, touching his face. "I promise you, things will be as they never were before after Lilly's born. They will be better than either one of us could imagine."

"I can't do this alone," Vlad said. "I can't make this change without you there to guide me."

"I'll still be here," I said. "We're not leaving. I may not be in your arms or in your sights but I'll always be here. We both will." I touched his chest, gently holding my hand over where his heart would be. "When you need that strength, call on us. We'll be right here."

"I'll make you proud, Daniel," Vlad said, tears filling his eyes again. "I'll make you love me and I'll show you that we're stronger together than we were ever apart."

"Just give me these three months just this once," I begged. "I'll give you that child you've always wanted and I'll give you everything."

"I'll make you see," Vlad repeated, teleporting out. Twenty-four hours. I asked him for space and he barely does twenty-four hours. I don't know if this is going to work or not.

O_O

Saturday we spent almost the entire day in the castle. We had departed way too early for my liking but the fourteen hours we spent there accomplished more than I could have ever imagined. From four o'clock in the morning until six at night, we stayed in those offices, eating through every meal we had ordered. For our efforts, we completed the number of confirmed noblemen to fifteen percent; we were only on eight when we arrived. That night we went on patrol and stayed out until nearly dawn. We had all been up for more than twenty-four hours when we collapsed in TPHQ. We didn't wake up until three Sunday.

Before going to the castle, we decided to go to the Nasty Burger. Vlad may have destroyed the one that killed my family, but the one in the mall was still open. We had finished eating, us three bloated more than ever before, when Jazz burst through the door: "Danny, run!"

"Run," I asked, wondering how she knew I was here. "Why should I—," I began but the door to the restaurant bust open and my parents were there. I stared in horror at their outfits. Why, oh, why, did they get out of their HAZMAT suits for this? They were dressed like it was 1981 again. Everybody in that restaurant stopped, staring at my parents.

"You, like, totally forgot your wallet, man," Mom said, handing me my old wallet. I had replaced that thing a few days ago after my near-preterm labor.

"Thanks," I said, sarcastic. They've humiliated me for the remainder of my unnatural life for a stupid wallet I had thrown in the trash!

"We love you, man," Dad declared as Mom hugged me incredibly tight.

"If I pass out," I said to Jazz, "I give you permission not to resuscitate me." That way, I can pretend to be dead, phase out of my grave and live at HQ forever.

"If anyone asks, I'm related to you," Jazz said, shrinking.

"Okay," Sam said, uninterested. "But you're going to have to act a lot less cheery."

"Let's moonwalk out of here, Maddie," Dad declared.

"Aw," Mom declared. "Just like our college days!"

Mom and Dad turned on some music from a boom box Dad was carrying and started to moonwalk out of the Nasty Burger. It's official. I'm going to die of embarrassment.

"Oh, cheer up, Danny," Sam said as I stared in horror as my parents disappeared. "I'm sure there are some people who haven't seen this."

"Oh, this is going on the internet," a voice declared. Mikey had a video camera, taping my parents dramatic but embarrassing exit.

I grunted in frustration, slamming out of the booth and taking off for the nearest exit. Sam and Tucker followed me, calling my name. I don't know where Jazz went if anywhere. Once I was in the fresh air, I declared: "Just once I'd like to know what it's like to have a normal childhood?"

"Which you never will so long as you are Jack Fenton's son," a voice declared. I looked up to see Vlad.

"Great," I declared, transforming. "More weirdness from my parents college years." Didn't I ask you to stay away? Attacking me in our ghost forms doesn't count? "What do you want from me this time, Plasmius?" And you'd better not say 'come back to me.'

Vlad landed in front of me and I stared at the scene. Why does this seem familiar?

"The Ecto-acne," Vlad said, triggering his rings. "It's back!" Vlad looked horrible once he was in his human form. I stared at him in shock, wondering where the acne part was. "Please, help me?"

"Help you," Sam spat.

"Yeah," Tucker backed her up. "Why would we do that?"

"I thought you'd never ask," Vlad said. Wait, I don't get it! Is this… no, Sam! Tucker! Vlad tossed something at Sam and Tucker and I watched in slow motion as the capsule landed at their feet and vapors started to surround them. I turned towards Sam and Tucker but Vlad grabbed my ankle. I looked back at him, in a mixture of horror, surprise and anger. "Find the cure or my fate is theirs."

Sam and Tucker screamed in rage after their coughing ceased. "This has to be it," Tucker screamed. "It's too late!"

I looked back to Vlad to see he had passed out. I grabbed him by his coat. "Vlad, wake up! Tell me you're bluffing! Tell me there's an antidote! Tell me anything, just wake up!"

"Back off, ghost," Dad declared, a shot hitting me. I flew into a box of crates.

"Danny," Jazz cried, "…must be around here somewhere. I'll go find him!"

"Vlad," Mom declared.

"Vladdy," Dad said as Jazz stepped in front of me. We side stepped out of the alley and I powered down. When I returned, Mom had found Sam and Tucker.

"This is bizarre," Mom said. "Their symptoms match that of early stage Ecto-acne and there's only one place that knows how to treat that!"

Dad gave a thumbs up and I began. "Please say hospital, please say hospital, please say hospital."

"Fentonworks," Dad declared.

"Why couldn't he say hospital," I asked. We would have to quarantine the house and do you know how hard it is to completely quarantine that place? Within the hour, Mom had started putting the three of them on fluids. Sam and Tucker weren't weak yet but I knew it would only be a matter of time. I had to find out what caused this so I could save Vlad and kill him myself.

"This is it," Tucker declared in a hushed voice. "The damn mysterious illness was Vlad's fault!"

"Yeah," I said, swallowing the lump. "I am so sorry. I froze."

"It's okay," Sam said. "It's not that bad. I don't feel weak or anything."

"Looking good, Vladdy," Dad said. The machine started to fail again. "Oh, who am I kidding? You're a goner."

"There must be something you can do for them," I asked Mom.

"Oh, I wished I could Danny but I still can't determine what's causing the lethal acne," Mom sighed.

"Lethal," Sam and Tucker cried in surprise.

"Life is so unfair," Vlad said, feeling much better now that he was on fluids. He was only slightly in worse shape than Sam and Tucker. "And for you two, growing ever shorter."

I picked Vlad up by the shirt, "When I find that cure, I'm going to make you wish that I didn't!"

"Good one," Vlad retorted in deliria. "I swear I get chill bumps when you get so dramatic! But I'm afraid that you're running out of time."

"Time," I said, thinking of Clockwork. "That gives me a great idea." If I go back in time, all this can be prevented. "Sam, Tucker, you guys hang in there. Jazz, I'm counting on you to keep them comfortable."

"Where are you going," Jazz asked.

"To figure this out," I declared. "Vlad, you try anything and I swear the acne will be the least of your troubles."

"Danny," Dad declared. "Vlad didn't mean to infect them."

"Danny, I don't think you should leave," Mom declared. "Honey, things can get bad fast."

"That's why I've got to move now," I replied. "I've got to save Vlad so I can kill him myself!"

I ran out of the room, heading for the area of the basement that was the portal. Just last week, I was in that same medical unit Sam and Tucker are in. They didn't give up on me and I'll damn well not give up on them. They won't turn half ghost! None of them will.

Before I touched down in Clockwork's tower, the old man began: "It's a horrible idea."

"Come on, Clockwork," I retorted, not even pretending he didn't know what I was here for. "Send me back to my parents college days. I can stop the original outbreak of ecto-acne and Vlad from developing his powers to begin with."

"The solution lies in the present, not in the past," Clockwork began.

"Please," I pleaded. "Sam and Tucker are my best friends. I can't allow them to go through this. Not with knowing how it will all turn out. I don't have a choice!"

"You always have a choice," Clockwork said, "but since you always insist on doing things the hard way, I'll permit it." Clockwork summoned a time medallion, placing it around my neck: "For when you realize that this is a mistake. Don't take it off—for anything." Clockwork pushed the button on his time staff as I looked at the medallion. It was different this time. There was an extra glow around it. "Try not to destroy the past."

I landed in the new time, looking around. I was at a college of some sort. Students were hanging out, everyone dressed like my parents were earlier. "Destroy the past? What, and lose all this culture?"

"Totally wicked costume, dude," someone said behind me. I turned around, seeing a punk-looking guy thumbs-uping me. He went about his business.

"Great, I blend," I declared. I knew this stupid suit was ridiculous. "Well, I guess it beats anyone thinking I'm a—," I stopped as my eyes traced over a flyer. It was an invitation to the opening of a ghost portal. Bingo!

O_O

I watched how the younger versions of my parents and my crazy boyfriend were putting this tiny thing together. It was last minute preparations, I know, but they were just as focused as if they were putting the first wire in. "Maddie," Vlad said softly, "There's something I've always wanted to tell you—," Vlad began.

"Not now, Vlad," Mom interrupted him. "Jack, have you added the Ectopurifier?"

"On it, Baby," Dad declared. He was still loud and obnoxious but that 'baby' wasn't a pet name. It was like with Tucker and Sam. Dad still hadn't fell in love with Mom yet.

"It won't work, Jack," Vlad declared. He was aggravated that they were even wasting their time, I know.

"Of course it will, V-man," Dad brushed aside his worries.

"Jack," Mom began. "These calculations aren't right."

"Bonsai," Dad declared as he switched the switch. Show time! I dived out, pushing Vlad out from directly in front of the portal. He was stupid! Doesn't everyone know to never stand directly in front of an invention on test day. It's a house rule… oh. That's why it's a house rule.

The blast ricocheted and I was afraid I'd have to tackle Vlad again. Then he made it worse we he dived in front of Mom. The blast was aiming at her and I was afraid it would hit Mom or Vlad would take it for her. They managed to dodge it and it blew up. I breathed a sigh of relief. "No ecto-acne and no Plasmius. Mission complete!" I disappeared.

O_O

I arrived back home and I sighed, content. "Everything's normal," I declared. However, I noticed that something was off about the house. I finally noticed it, wondering where the ops-center was? Did Mom and Dad give up ghost hunting? Oh, no! I ran inside, seeing the place a mess. Is there another me in this timeline? Does he have ghost powers?

"No one trespasses on Jack Fenton's property," Dad declared. I stared at him in shock as he charged at me. Well, it was dark. Maybe he can't see who it is?

"Dad," I declared. Surely the me from this timeline and I can't look too differently. "It's me."

"Dad," he asked confused. "I don't have a son. I'm single! Bitterly, bitterly single."

Or I don't exist here at all. I looked to my chest to see the medallion. I can still fix this. "Well, that explains almost everything."

"What," Dad demanded.

"Nothing," I brushed it away. I noticed just now that he was covered in pimples. Was this the ecto-acne? "Is that eco-acne?"

"It's a condition… that you shouldn't know about. How do you know about ecto-acne? Talk!" He lifted me in the air. It was all right. I've been done this way plenty of times.

"I'm your son," I explained. Jeez, what's taking so long to figure this out? My dad would be all over this. "I know about the accident in Wisconsin. That shouldn't have happened."

"Oh, it happened all right," Dad declared. He threw me down, hard. Okay, that's not how he usually puts me down. I grunted. "And my world went down the flusher from that point on!" A blast of light lit up the area we're in, traveling his entire body over. I gasped as I watched Dad transform into a ghost. I was convinced that the transformation takes place at night because Dad had his normal nighttime attire on, down to the jumpsuit, they were just reversed in color. Dad wore a purple hazmat suit and his normally soft purple night shit was a crimson red.

Dad blasted a shot at me and I jumped out of the way. "No," I cried. What is taking him so long to figure out that I'm not of this timeline? "I'm your son, Danny!"

"I do not have a son," Dad declared. Oh, for the love of God! Haven't we accomplished this. "And even if I did, I certainly wouldn't call him Danny. That's just dumb!" I guess that solves the problem of who chose my name.

Dad fired more shots at me and I dodged them. I ran along the wall as he chased after me with his energy. "Okay," I declared. "I didn't want to do this but you've left me with no other option!" I stared ahead, keeping my stress in check, "Going ghost!"

"You're a ghost," Dad asked softly. Maybe I can get him to bond with me now that he knows there are others. "I hate ghosts!" Or not. Dad shot more blasts at me but I easily dodged them. I floated in the sky, trying to get the hang of this. Dad hates heights so he won't go too far from the ground.

"I don't understand," I spoke aloud as Dad fired more shots at me. "That has to be Dad." I didn't even move as he fired at me. "He aims like Dad."

"Ghosts cost me the love of my life," Dad declared. He charged at me, proving to me that twenty years with powers can cure a height problem. He punched me through the floors and I landed in the lab.

"I've got to get back to Clockwork," I grunted. This wasn't right. Damn it, I hate it when I'm wrong and someone else is right. I turned in the direction of the portal but the wall was vacant. "Oh, no," I said, wondering how I was going to get to the Ghost Zone without a portal. I turned around and saw the proto-portal. I grunted as I knew it was my only choice, "Maybe I can squeeze through this stupid thing!" My eyes trailed to the back where some newspaper articles were. "Oh. Oh, no," I said, removing the article. "Mr. and Mrs. Vlad Masters?! I didn't destroy the past; I destroyed the future."

"Say goodbye," I heard someone declare behind me and I turned around, the article on display for Dad to see. He took it sadly, "Goodbye. That's all I say anymore."

"Dad," I said. Uh, he can't figure this out! "Jack," I replied. "Tell me what happened. I mean, I love to hear you blab on about the glory days!"

"Well, my cat Jasmine won't listen anymore," Dad said. And that explains who named Jazz. "It was all twenty years ago. The portal messed up for some reason and a blast of raw ectoplasm escaped the confines of the portal. It's all right when it's in the portal but out in the open, it kills. We were dodging it when it aimed for Maddie. Both Vlad and I reacted, trying to save her when Vlad pushed her out of the way and I was struck by the blast.

"I got really sick and for months I thought I was going to die. Maddie and Vlad stuck by my side through it all until I woke up with ghost powers. Maddie ran out of the room crying and Vlad ran after her. Vlad came back in and told me that Maddie was disgusted with me being a ghost. They left and I never saw them again. I tried to accept my life, beginning a career as a ghost fighter but I decided to start on Halloween… and that didn't turn out so good. So I went back to trying to remove my ghost powers, knowing Maddie could never accept me; not as a friend or otherwise."

"I am so sorry," I said, knowing what went wrong. "This is all my fault."

"What are you blathering about," Dad demanded.

"I went to the past and changed one little detail," I said, removing the wallet that was really mine. I showed him a picture of our family. "Vlad wasn't supposed to marry Maddie, you were," I said, handing him the picture so he could see it clearly. Dad started to become angrier, causing me to react. "I can fix it! All I need to do is get to the Ghost Zone!"

"More lies," Dad declared, duplicating. Just great. I flew away but I still got knocked around. I vanished, hoping to throw him off. It worked.

"If Dad doesn't have a working portal then I've got to hope Mom does," I replied. I just hope I don't fly to Wisconsin for nothing.

O_O

I had never seen so much cheese in my life. I avoided the gouda because of past experience but both Mom and Vlad were completely different. Vlad still had anger issues but he tried to put on a front. I'd imagine it was only because someone was here. I hope he doesn't abuse her. I'd feel sorry for Vlad. That night, I went in search of a portal. However, I couldn't find anything but a cheese processing plant.

Finally, I looked one layer down. Mom loves to build things under things under things. It's weird but if someone would see our house, they'd know exactly what I mean. Just as I suspected, Mom had a ghost lab under the processing plant. I found a portal but my happiness didn't last long. The last thing I remember before it all went black was being stuck in the Fenton Weasel (or the Maddie Weasel as Mom called it).

I opened my eyes groggily with a splitting headache to find myself trapped on my back. I struggled with the bonds but I couldn't free myself. "You're awake," Mom said. "Good. Now I can get some answers. What were you doing sneaking around my secret lab?" She pulled out a wand and a laser started inching closer to me.

"What are you doing," I screamed. Oh, my God, is this really happening. "No, don't!"

"Scream all you want, ghost! This lab is soundproof. It has to be or my husband would find it. Now, talk! Who are you?"

"I'm Jack Fenton's son," I called. I didn't want a similar reaction I got from Dad. Mom gasped, her face lines softening under the helmet. Here goes nothing, "His and yours."

"Liar," Mom declared. Great, I'm dead. "I haven't seen Jack Fenton in years. We ran up here to escape his ghostly wrath!"

"What," I cried. "That's not true! He's still totally in love with you."

"It's true, Maddie," I heard someone declare. Dad landed just a few feet from where I was. "It's always been true."

"Jack," Mom said, her voice weak. Dad handed her my wallet, showing her the picture. "A family, with you. Oh, Jack! And that's why you called me Mom at the door? You must be our son from an alternate timeline!"

"Finally," I declared as she released me. I sat up, hugging them as they embraced me. "That's why I love scientist parents. Alternate timeline—valid excuse!"

"That's why you kept calling me Dad," Dad said. I chuckled. He flipped it over, "Where's our other timeline daughter, Denny."

"It's Danny," I chuckled as Mom gasped in delight. "It's kind of complicated."

Mom walked over to a computer beside the portal: "Clockwork, right?"

I stared at that file in shock, "Wow, you're good."

"You didn't think I spend all my nights coming up with new cheese recipes, did you," Mom asked me. I didn't want to think what she did at night.

"Just think, Maddie. In another dimension, we have two kids to embarrass!"

I smiled as I headed for the portal. Something sounded behind me and knowing what it was, I ducked, spinning around. "How about we focus on what you're doing in this timeline!"

"Vlad," Mom cried. "It's not what you think."

"It's exactly what he thinks, Maddie," Dad declared, transforming. "You and I are meant to be together and nothing will ever keep us apart again!"

"Nothing but this," Vlad said, shooting Dad. It infuriated me.

"Leave him alone," I declared, shooting the gun in his hands. I was going to shoot it out of his hands but he was only a human. I couldn't hurt him.

Vlad pointed the gun at me but I dodged the attack. Instead, it hit Mom. "Mom," I cried, turning in her direction.

"Don't you ever call her that again," Vlad declared. He finally hit me with the slime and I landed back on the examination table. The bonds reattached. Just great. "You've overstayed your welcome and now you'll have to leave, molecule by molecule!"

Just great! It doesn't matter what dimension I'm in, I have someone threatening to tear me apart molecule by molecule. He grabbed the wand laser again and started moving it towards me slowly for dramatic effect. It worked. "Wait! You don't understand. None of this is supposed to happen!"

"Do you think I care," Vlad declared. "I like it this way!"

"Get away from my son," Dad roared, pushing Vlad away from me. Vlad and Dad started fighting, Vlad shooting the beam at Dad. He pulled up a shield to protect himself but the laser reacted like an explosion. Dad flew back, slamming into something hard. I couldn't see but I knew that no matter what happened, I could change it all.

"Jack," Mom cried.

"It's okay Maddie," Dad said weakly. "Just think about how it could have been."

"You despicable, lying piece of cheese," Mom called out in disgust, "I wasted the best years of my life with you!"

"Now, Maddie," Vlad said. "I may be a lying piece of cheese but I am still your husband." Vlad grunted.

"Then consider this an annulment," Mom called. Vlad screamed but I couldn't see what happened. Footsteps ascended on me hastily. "Hurry, the portal's overloading," Mom replied, unlocking my bonds. "Go to Clockwork. He can help!"

As I flew away, I heard an explosion. Did I just lose both my parents? I can fix it, no matter what happened. I finally landed at Clockwork's.

"I will not help," he declared.

"But," I began to object.

"I will reset time before you meddled but that's it," he remarked. The scene this all began to play on his monitor.

"But Sam and Tucker," I tried to get him to see.

"Need to be healed in the present," he replied.

"Jack, have you added the Ectopurifier," Mom asked on the monitor.

"On it, Baby," Dad remarked. The screen showed Dad's hand reaching for something. The Ectopurifier was on the screen but he didn't grab it. He picked up a can of diet cola.

"That's it," I said, realizing. Mom said there was a impurity. It was right there all along. "That's it!" I took off flying, rushing to get back home. I turned back, remembering I didn't thank Clockwork. I saw him smiling. "Thanks, Clockwork," I smiled at him.

"Any time, son," Clockwork replied. I flew as fast as legally possibly.

O_O

I flew through the portal and transformed as I ran. I didn't stop until I knew they were okay. Sam and Tucker had already started to deteriorate. They were incredibly weak. I passed through the desanitation unit and walked in to hear Sam talking. "When you see Danny, tell him—," she began.

"Why don't you tell me yourself," I asked her, smiling.

"Danny," Mom declared in horror. She grabbed a decontamination suit. "Put on your protective gear! You don't want to catch the ecto-acne!"

"Yeah, about that," I replied. "Could that impurity you were talking about be, oh, diet cola."

"What," Mom declared. She walked over to her control station, picking up the print off. "Don't be silly—oh, my."

I crossed my arms, smirking. Mom and Dad got to work on an antidote. I walked over to Sam and Tucker, checking on them. "How are you guys doing?"

"Peachy," Tucker said, his voice holding weakened sarcasm.

"I'm sorry," I said. "I tried to fix it. Grandpa was right. Nothing I could do could prevent it."

"It's all right," Sam said weakly. "We'll get through this just like we get through everything else."

"Five years," Tucker gripped weakly. "I'd still have rather spent five minutes in the portal."

"I don't know about that," I replied, crossing my arms. "This would have still happened and we all know what happened in my dream when I contacted it."

"Well," Sam sighed, "beggars can't be choosers and we're begging. Right, Tuck?"

"I guess," Tucker sighed. "I wonder how long it will take for our recovery?"

"Not long," Mom replied, bringing over two beakers. "Danny, give this to Sam. Jazz," she called Jazz over, "You give this to Tucker."

I took the beaker and walked over to Sam. I helped her sit up and allowed her to take a drink. She started to drink and I could feel her strength returning. Tucker, who was being helped by Jazz, also was having his strength returning. I looked over to Vlad, Mom giving him the liquid. His strength started to return. I smiled softly as I helped Sam drink. At least Mom took care of her kids first.

We watched their stats climb slowly and I watched Vlad's closer than Sam's and Tucker. If Mom and Dad pieced the puzzle together with Vlad, they could with me too so protecting Vlad's secret meant protecting mine. When his stats reached human levels, I turned the monitor off. "Vladdy," Dad declared, pounding on Vlad's chest still, "You're cured!"

"That's great, Jack," Vlad said, annoyed, "Now will you stop pounding my chest!"

"Oh, sorry," Dad said bashful. "Do you want some diet cola?"

"No," Vlad answered in aggravation. Dad shrugged and moved away from Vlad. "I knew you'd come through, Daniel," Vlad said as I took his hand in mine. I felt for his pulse, the thing increasing. "Of course, I'm still weak beyond measure. Bygones," Vlad asked. I smiled mischievously at him.

"Oh, yeah," I said, grabbing him by the night gown. Mom and Dad had left the room for a moment, giving me my opportunity. I phased him out of the bed, looking to Sam and Tucker. "I'll be back once I take care of these bygones!" I phased us through the ops center and smacked him in the direction of Elemerton. "Bygones," I said happier. I phased back into the room, Mom and Dad still not looking to Vlad.

"Uh," Mom said as she turned around. "Where's Vlad?"

"He left," I replied. "He had to fly back to Wisconsin to tie up some loose ends."

"Already," Mom declared. "He just got better!"

"Well," Jazz said. "You know people like him. Don't have time to die!" Jazz walked away, giving us some space.

I walked over to sit between my two friends. I looked at their monitors. "Don't worry about it, Danny," Sam said, seeing what I was seeing. Their pulse was over one hundred.

"It's already starting," I said softly. "You haven't even recovered from the illness and you are already in the process of converting."

"Don't be so sad, Danny," Tucker said. "It's a good thing. We're alive and we're together."

"You're right," I smiled sadly. "I just wished I could have spared you the pain of the next five years."

"Maybe it won't be five years," Sam smiled, hopeful.

"In five years, to the date," I replied. "I've already seen it."

"Those dreams change all the time," Sam said. Her strength was returning.

"Yeah, well not this one. This one's written in stone," I sighed.

O_O

Sam and Tucker went home once they were strong enough to be moved but they still didn't feel like being out and about. I was going to go on patrol myself but Dad asked Jazz and I to tag along to their disco party or whatever. Having seen what happens if I alter one thing, I wanted to appreciate my life as it was. I know one day, I'll embarrass my children half to death. I decided to deck up in eighties clothes as well and go dancing with them.

"Too bad Vladdy had to fly back to Wisconsin so soon," Dad replied. "He would have loved this!"

"If anyone asks," Jazz said horrified, "I'm adopted."

"What can I say," I said, spinning on the platform. "I've come to terms with Mom and Dad's past. I wouldn't change it again, even if I could." I slid towards Mom and Dad, letting some of the stress off.

"Forget the internet," a voice declared, "I'm charging pay-per-view!" I looked up to see Mikey recording this. I laughed. I'll have to take care of that later.

O_O

Mikey was so upset about 'the accident'. No one thought twice about clumsy Danny Fenton falling into Mikey but if I had really fell, I'd flatted the boy who would become my brother-in-law through Brit. I would pay him enough to get a brand new camera but I took care of the footage. When Monday began, Tucker called me and said to pick him up for school. I refused. They were in the mist of becoming half ghost. They needed to take the time to restore their levels. I told Tucker then I'd bring home his homework and I told Sam when I brought her some equipment. I gave her a Fentonfone and a small device that we could talk over (kind of like a webcam that can operate independently from a computer). I gave Tucker the same thing.

I talked with them all day, using my own Fentonfone. They moved from their homes to HQ since Dad Number Two worked, Mom Number Two was busy and Sam's parents left their workers with her around third period. None of my teachers assumed anything when I talked with Sam and Tucker. When I got a ghost sense, I allowed them to 'tag' along. After detention, I went to HQ to see how they were doing. They had their strengths back but I was still wanting them to boost their strength.

"I really liked that," Tucker said as I walked in. I could see myself from my waist up. I gasped as I saw how ballooned my waist was. "We could see you all day and we could talk. That could work through fifth and eighth periods."

I twitched my hand upwards to stop the highlight on my waistline. "How are you guys feeling?"

"We're fine," Sam said, aggravated. "We could have went to school this morning!"

"You guys need to boost your strengths," I replied. "I know what it's like. Once that transformation starts, you need to have all the strength you can have. I'm taking you off patrolling duties."

"What," both declared. "No!"

"Just for a couple weeks," I replied. "You can watch me on the monitors. You'll see that I'm fine. You will need this strength!"

"And what happens when you're not fine and you need backup," Sam declared. "No!"

"Guys, you will need this later on," I objected. "You may seem fine but remember yesterday when you said that you felt fine. When I came back, you guys were on your death beds!"

"We'll take it easy," Tucker replied, "We might, I said might, even allow you to do the fighting but we are not waiting for you here!"

"Just try to reserve your strength," I begged. "You have no idea how tired and spent you will feel when your powers start picking up steam."

O_O

I didn't go on patrol tonight again because I was afraid they would wear themselves out. They wanted to follow me out but doing all that walking would only wear them down. So if I saw a ghost on the monitor, I would excuse myself. Of course, I didn't fool them the first time I did this and they followed me out. To prevent that from happening again, I took the elevator with me. Now they couldn't get out of headquarters because the only way out was three stories high. They had no choice but to stay there until I returned.

Tuesday, I had a flashback to the King when I tried to go to school that Saturday. I don't think anyone short of a half ghost could stop them but even I couldn't get them to stay. They switched on their specter belts and I didn't dare touch them. I had no choice but to follow them to school. Way to play dirty, guys!

When fifth period started, we all had a Fentonfone in our ear so we could remain in contact. I got a ghost sense that period so I quickly wrote down a follow along for Mrs. Baker and ran out the door. When I arrived, Sam and Tucker were there already. I was afraid of that.

"It's yours, dude," Tucker called, stepping back. I took over the fight, grateful that at least they weren't trying to get involved any more than they already did. When I captured it, I did find one thing as a bonus. No one found out the ghost was here but us. Normally, the attack during this class is exposed every day.

"Are you guys okay," I asked.

"We're fine," Sam remarked in aggravation.

"You guys shouldn't have done that," I sighed, "but thank you."

O_O

We headed back to our respective classes and continued class. When lunch began, things returned to normal now that we were together again. Nothing really big happened until eighth when they met me once again for a ghost attack. Of course, I can usually handle this period with no problems and nothing out of the ordinary happened this time either. Once I had captured my ghost, Sam and Tucker decided to skip with me. I couldn't leave because I had detention after school but that didn't mean we couldn't just hang out.

After detention, we went home like usual. Mom gave Sam and Tucker a complete exam when she saw them again and passed them with a clean bill of health. We went upstairs to my room but it didn't last long. Sam and Tucker wanted to go back to the castle. Why do they find that enjoyable?

I did get something done though that made up for the boring work called creating noblemen and that was getting Sam and Tucker checked out. With the hospital a part of the castle, I didn't have to fight them to check them out. When the doctor drew blood, I couldn't detect any ectoplasm. As I studied it intently, I finally saw the simplest spec. The percentage of ghost to human was so tiny, that it was nearly impossible to determine. Afterwards, we headed out for patrol, later than normal. We barely spent two hours on the streets.

O_O

That night, I decided to do a self-examination of my stomach. I removed my clothing and my waist was the biggest it had ever been. I was no longer just filling out—I was gaining weight. I stood facing the opposite direction so I could see the profile of my stomach. I groaned and started to freak as my stomach sat out in the open. I officially have a baby bump but it is by no means small. I felt my nipples and they weren't sensitive any more. However, they were enormous now.

I groaned, "Oh, what am I going to do? I can't be doing this! I'm a guy for crying out loud. How am I supposed to explain this?"

I slipped my pajama top over my shoulders and started to button it. They've been tight for some time now but I knew that it was getting worse. Soon, I won't be able to close my shirt. I slipped my pants on and groaned. What am I going to do in one or two more months when this is going to be impossible to hide? When I found out I was pregnant, I never thought about this consequence.

O_O

Wednesday saw the return of patrol like normal. We met at patrol but I was surprised to find Mr. Lancer seek us out with a strange kid. He wore sunglasses inside and hair stark white hair like mine in ghost form. I did not want this kid around our group. He wasn't even from around here for crying out loud. However, I got my chance to escape when I got my ghost sense. I'll be damned if Vlad hasn't put a charge on using the bathroom.

I didn't realize Sam hadn't tagged along until much later. I made a mistake at the end of the week when I acted like I didn't trust her. Of course it was the boy, Gregor, that I didn't trust. I thought I was going to lose both Sam and Tucker through this week but we managed to pull ourselves back together like always. The main event ended Sunday when the GiW attacked Sam, Tucker and Gregor thinking Gregor was me but Sam, Tuck and I didn't make up until Monday at school. I didn't see them again until Monday.

Things still didn't slow down, though, because Tuesday was the physical exam. I hated those things because I have to balance between not being too strong but not being Jell-O. I was stuck with Dash all day all the while we were shrunk and I was losing my power. It got close but I managed to keep my secret in tack. Tuck and I passed the physical exam and we were happy to know we passed Gym. No one would fail!

Things returned to ho-hum for more than a week. It wasn't until the end of the month, a Wednesday, that I had a major event begin. It all started out innocent enough when Val and I hung out online that night. However, things became increasingly difficult when I decided to try to make Tucker jealous. I actually felt a little attraction to her. It took me a few days to get over the heartbreak and disappointment but I came to realize that Val is Tucker's girl. Amid all this chaos, Dan escaped his thermos for a fifth time and Nickelodeon aired a new episode of Danny Phantom. I went to the Adkins home to watch the episode with them as promised and it turned out to be the episode Vlad put the bounty on me.

The following Tuesday was the last day of school for two weeks. Considering the first and last two weeks were the only time we'd get off for Summer, we decided for a family vacation. I was determined for Sam and Tucker to tag along and getting the Foley's to agree was a piece of cake but not as easy as it was for the Manson's. I was so ready for this family vacation because I had planned on picking up Grandpa in Florida and the Calloway's in Texas. However, it was currently starting out in a bad note. I had a pathetic dream that night and slept through my alarm. I had to get a move on if I wanted to make it to Sam and Tucker before they came looking for me.

I flew out of my room, thinking of Sam and Tucker. I wondered who I should go to first and decided that I'd go to Sam's first. However, I heard my dad. "Hey, ghost kid," he declared. I looked at him with a slight grin. "When I get my hands on you, I'm going to tear you apart, molecule by molecule!"

I avoided a gun blast and went towards Sam's. "And that's why I won't be going ghost during my family vacation." I picked up Sam and we flew invisibly to Tucker's. Grabbing Tucker, we headed for school. "It's summer," I cried. "That mean in eight hours, we won't be having anyone telling us what to do for two whole weeks!"

"Excellent," Tucker declared.

"A dream come true," Sam declared. Yeah, it was a short vacation but we've come to take even the smallest of blessings.

O_O

School blew by like it does every last day of school. No work, nothing but killing time, and having a blast. Tonight was the Humpty Dumpty concert then we'd be taking off for our vacation. We were talking about our vacation spots: Camp Canaveral in Florida, Gothapalooza in Nevada and Comic Con in California. Jazz was the only one gripping about this vacation. She got the entire summer off but she's complaining! It burned me up when I thought about it.

The concert was going to be early in the day because we did not want an issue with a ghost attack. The sooner it happens after school, the less likely there is for an attack. Sam asked me how I managed to get her parents to agree to this vacation. I couldn't tell her I overshadowed them, so I said cryptically, "You can say I finally got under their skin." However, when I opened my eyes, they were gone. I looked around wildly to see them flying away. What in the world? How did that ghost sneak by me?

I sneaked into the stage that was covered with a curtain and transformed. I flew out, seeking out the ghost and my friends however I noticed that a lot more ghosts were attacking now. Sorry, guys. I'll be right there. I started rounding up the ghosts, catching a glimpse of Paulina's stalker-like obsession. I smiled at her but it was one of pure pity. The girl was crazy.

I finally found Sam and Tucker but they were wrapped up tightly. The person there surprised the hell out of me. Wasn't he in prison? I know I put him there! He wouldn't get out any time soon, either.

I shot a blast at Freakshow, my fury louder than my conscious. This guy nearly killed Sam and that is not something I forget easily. "Actually, yeah," I declared to his statement about enjoying our freedom while he wasted away in jail. "I've been practicing my aim!"

"And so have I," he said, extending his hand out. "Say hello to the Reality Gauntlet, twice as powerful now that I have activated the gem of form!"

Freakshow created these two giant robots out of a couple of scrapped train cars. I was worried at first but they showed no signs of life. I started laughing as I realized his toy was defunct, "What are they going to do? Rust on me!"

"Have a little taste of the gem of life," Freakshow declared, shooting the robots with a red beam. "And Freakshow said, let there be life!"

The robots came to life and I really wished they'd try to rust on me. They were huge and I wasn't moving all that well this late in my pregnancy. It didn't take long for Freakshow to grow bored. Deep down, I was nervous about his decree about getting a bigger audience but I ignored my gut. I know I'll come to regret it but hopefully things will go down quietly.

The concert started at five and I was ready for this to begin. Sam and Tucker were worried and I should probably be too. However, something in my mind kept telling me all I had was two weeks so I should enjoy it. The smaller voice sounded better so I ignored the screaming one.

O_O

Sam and Tucker were grabbed again and I had to go after them. I knew where they were but Freakshow was making it difficult to do anything. I winced as I heard the helicopters in the air. The network was in town this week for reviews and ratings so I'd have to make sure any freaky stuff got omitted. Things were happening so quickly, that when it happened, I was so dazed it seemed unreal. I knew I couldn't feel the power of Phantom but I didn't believe I had powered down until I saw the pink arm.

I moaned unsure, "Nobody saw that, right?"

"Holy sweat socks," Dash cried. Okay, you've got my attention now. Please, let this be a dream and I'll pay more attention when it happens. "Danny Fenturd is Danny Phanturd!"

"And he's totally infatuated with me," Paulina cried. "This makes things so much easier—for me!"

The words and the voices swirled and I just wanted to die. The helicopter reminded me that my problems were bigger than I thought. Someone climbed on the stage and that created the swarm. So many people started to enclose me in. I was trapped.

"Back, beasts, back," Tucker's voice cut above the noise. I snapped my head in his direction and he was using one of the stools to keep some of the group back.

"Well," Sam said shakily. "It could be worse."

"Yeah," I retorted. "How?" Not only does my town know my secret, the entire planet knows it! That means that anyone who knows about the show knows it's real now!

"Nobody move," a voice announced over a loud speaker.

Okay, that's how it can get worse.

"You are under arrest," the main GiW announced. "We're taking you in for questions and experiments—lots of painful experiments."

"I don't think so," I declared. "Sam, Tucker, grab hold of me!" Sam and Tucker grabbed me and I called, "I'm going ghost!" I transformed and bolted into the sky. However, I felt my powers giving out. I started to fall towards the ground and I managed to make us land on the stage. "That explosion must have messed with my ghost powers," I said in a panic.

"I'll get us out of here," Sam called, heaving me to the edge of the stage. I gasped because I didn't expect her to do anything. "Mosh pit!"

We rode the waves of fans until somewhere in the middle when the kids brought us down. Some of them were creating a kind of underground railroad as we tried to escape. When we exited the pile, we ran as far as we could and hid against the football shed. I heard Sam and Tucker gasp but I was yanked inside before I could figure out what was happening. We were pushed into a crouching position with all the lights out.

It was the ninth grade A-List of the school. "You're helping me," I asked in surprise.

"Well, duh," Dash whispered. "You've only been helping us since ever!"

Paulina gave me a big smack on my cheek but I'd bet a big amount of money on the only reason it was the cheek was because it was dark. "Paulina Fenton," Paulina declared. "Hey, I finally wrapped my head around it!" I smiled at her but I'd hate to tell her that I'm not interested anymore.

"Okay, I'm both greatly relieved and seriously nauseated," Sam said.

"Let's get to work," Ashley said, grabbing a football jersey. "We're not out of the woods until we're at Dash's."

"Dash's," I asked.

"We've got to get you to safety," Dash replied. "At least until your powers recuperate."

"Yeah," I said, looking around. Most of the students couldn't see squat because of how dark it was. "What's your plan? I can see perfectly here."

"You can," Kwan said in surprise.

"Yeah," I replied. "A benefit of being half ghost."

"No wonder you could kick my butt," Dash said. "I'm really sorry."

"If you can get us out of here alive then all past deeds forgiven," I said.

"We're going to dress you guys in costumes," Star replied. "If they can't tell who you are, then we can escape."

"Okay," I replied. I picked up on their plan. I grabbed the crow mascot. "Tuck, you wore this before!"

"On it," Tucker said as he caught the mascot. I searched for something else but I knew it was no good.

"Sam," I said reluctantly.

"I don't care," she groaned. "We don't have time to be picky."

"Thanks for understanding," I replied. I pulled out a cheerleading costume. Looking around for me, the only thing I could fit in was a heavy set boy's jersey. I hoped no one would notice how big I was under that size 3X shirt I wore now. We exited the shed, sneaking right past the Guys in White. We were a far ways away from saying mission accomplished but we were on our way.

O_O

Mr. and Mrs. Baxter were so generous and Lil' Dan was ecstatic I was there. I picked him up, rubbing his hair. "Hey there, kid," I replied.

"What's going to happen, Danny," Lil' Dan asked me.

"I don't know," I replied sitting down on the couch. "It's like I tell you when you hit a roadblock. You just need to take it day by day. Now, I need to take my own advice."

"Did you get hurt," he asked me.

"Nah," I said, squeezing him to my side. "You know me. Super, right!"

"Right," Lil' Dan declared. "What's the plan?"

"Get back to where I'm strongest," I replied, looking to Sam and Tucker. It was only eight in the evening so I had plenty of time to recuperate. "If I can make it back to Fentonworks, and survive my parents, then I can make it."

"That's only a short term solution, though," Mr. Baxter replied. "You kids need to come up with a solution to deal with the Guys in White."

"Once I get back to base, I will have protection and nothing they do will penetrate our fortress," I replied. "But once I'm inside, I need to get into contact with my boss. Samuels can take care of the Guys in White."

"Well, you know he's on his way," Sam said, crossing her arms. "The network was in town this week. This thing is spreading all over the world."

I sighed, "Don't remind me."

"Let's not forget about Freakshow," Tucker said. "We have more problems than the Guys in White."

"Freakshow is the least of my problems," I sighed. "I have to get rid of the Guys in White, get this thing under control and deal with my parents." I groaned, putting my hand in my head. "I don't know what I'm going to do about Mom and Dad."

"It's okay, Danny," Lil' Dan said. "You can do it."

"I'll give it all I've got, buddy," I said, nodding my head to his. Lil' Dan giggled.

"Why is the little twerp so connected to you," Dash asked in suspicion.

"You're bound to find out," I groaned. "There's this show. I don't know how it came about but it details my life from the meat monster to the most recent, when I had that bounty put on me."

"What," Sam and Tucker declared.

"How accurate is it," Sam asked.

"Scarily so," I replied.

"Why didn't you tell me about this, runt," Dash roared.

"I asked you to watch Danny with me," Lil' Dan said, sitting up on my lap. "Don't yell at me or I'll sic Danny on you."

I chuckled, "Now, come on Dan-Dan. You know violence isn't the answer." I didn't want to call him Lil' Dan because that might bring up questions but I refuse to call him Dan. I couldn't bare to picture Dan when I look at Lil' Dan.

Lil' Dan groaned, "Yeah. I know."

"That stupid cartoon," Dash cried in alarm. "That's your life's story!"

"Yep," I said, smacking my lips together. "It's ridiculous, I know that much."

"I bet you kids are hungry," Mrs. Baxter replied. "How about some food?"

I remained quiet because I didn't want to put anything in my stomach. With the nausea I was experiencing I knew I would throw it right back up.

O_O

At the crack of dawn we headed out. I didn't get any sleep that night because of all the nerves in my body reacting. I forced Sam and Tucker to sleep but it was restlessly. The Baxter's lived on the opposite side of town from us so it took around two hours for us to sneak past all the checkpoints the Guys in White had. I couldn't fly, I couldn't stay out in the open and at any given time, I could come across a patrolling agent. It was just Sam, Tuck and I leaving so it was a lot easier than the trip from the high school to the Baxter residence which was a lot closer in proximity.

When we finally made it to the bottom of the hill that led to Fentonworks, it was almost nine in the morning. We ducked behind buildings and entered through the back door. I was the first in, expecting to find Mom and Dad waiting for me in the living room. However, the minute I walked into room, I was met with hundreds of agents. This was so not good.

"Daniel Fenton," the main Guy in White said, "a.k.a. Danny Phantom, you are under arrest in accordance to the anti-ecto act."

"I'm just going to say this once," I declared. "Let my friends go and get out of my house!"

"Or what," he said in snide. I had to make this work. The object I needed was all the way on the other side of all those agents.

"Or this," I declared. "Now," I called. Using some of my powers to make me more limber, I done a handspring and tackled an agent. I heard struggling behind me and I knew Sam and Tucker were fighting now. One of the agents turned a gun on me so I knocked his aim out of bounds. I butted my knee under his gun, sending it flying. I swiped his feet from under him, him landing in a heap. Another of the agents started firing on me so I started hand springing across the room. Several of their agents were hit, flying back.

"Cease fire," one of the Guys in White cried. "You're only hitting our people. Combat! Combat!"

"Fine by me," I said, grabbing one. I threw him into three others. I had actually moved farther away from the control panel. I needed to cut across the floor, not move outward. One agent barreled at me and I hit the floor. I used my muscles in my arm to do a hand spring and kicked him in the back, sending him crashing into more. I rectified myself.

I done some hand springs, leaping over two and under one as I crossed a third of the way there. Three agents came at me at the same time and I swapped at one of the guy's feet, knocking him back. The second one came at me with a baton. I pulled my bag off my shoulder, hitting him in the gut to give me more room and pulled it back to me. I pulled out my pencil box.

"What are you going to do," the one with the baton asked in mockery. "Write me a love note!"

"Hardly," I said, snapping out my own baton. Of course, to him, it looked just like a thin green and gray pencil. I expanded it, dropping the pencil box back down. "You have no idea who you're messing with!"

We started fighting and I swiped his feet out from under him. I used the baton to transfer my energy into the agent, knocking him unconscious. I put my sights on the last one around me. I started swiping the baton at him, hitting him with expert marks. One after another knocked him back. Other agents closed in on me. I thought I was caught when several blasts started firing this way. I was right in the mist of the fire but because I was in human form and my human form is immune, the shots were harmless to me.

I ran for the wall, leaping over one of the agents who thought he could stop me. I did an acrobatic twist, landing behind him and in front of the control panel. I smacked the emergency backup system, the lights flashing sporadically. "Fenton Family Defense system activated," a female robotic voice broadcast. "Evacuate premises immediately or face potentially deadly force," my dad's voice replied. "Our special today is fudge… I mean pain!"

Suddenly, the uphill battle we had been facing became so much easier. Sam and Tucker reached behind me. "What's going on," Sam asked me.

"The defense system," I replied. "It attacks all things ghostly!" Now it was time to reach Mom and Dad's room and reach the ops center. "I'm going ghost!" I triggered my rings but I decided I'm an idiot. I powered down before the weapons aimed at me started firing. "Darn it," I cried. "If I go ghost, the house will think I'm an enemy. Run!"

We ran towards the steps but more guards enclosed around us. I had to get to the ops center but we were still on foot. "Freeze," he called.

"Okay," I said, holding Sam and Tucker back. One of the various defenses came out and took him down, clearing the path. When we made it to the top of the stairs, more guards met us. I allowed another defense system to take them out and they rolled down the steps. When we made it upstairs, we were still surrounded. I had to keep in mind where the defenses were so I could use them to my advantage. We were dead tired when we made it to the shoot. "Three to the ops center!"

I started to lock the place down and deactivate the Fenton Family Defense system. I released the ops center from the locks and we floated out into the sky. "The Fenton Blimp," Sam declared in horror. "What are we going to do, bore them to death with a low speed chase?"

"Not quite," I said, smiling at her. I still don't know much about this but I know how to activate it and a few other core demands. I transferred the blimp into a jet, sitting down in the driver's seat. I looked around all the various buttons but I was for a loss.

"We're going to destroy the school," Tucker declared. I looked out to see Casper High coming into my sight.

"I don't know what to do," I realized.

"Do something," Sam screamed, terrified.

"Wait," I called, remembering a lesson. I pushed a button and auto Jack popped up.

"Auto Jack activated," Dad's voice replied. "Buckle up and pass the fudge!"

I breathed a sigh of relief.

Tucker let out a big puff of air. "It's after noon," Tucker declared. "It took us three hours to get through our own house!"

"This is not good," I sighed, sinking in the seat. "Why couldn't I dream about this yesterday," I grumbled. "Instead, I dreamed about some battle with a giant cockroach!"

"What," Sam and Tucker declared.

"Tell me about it," I sighed. "This was looming but I dream about a cockroach!"

"What are we going to do," Tucker asked me. "Run away from home?"

"What choice do I have," I asked. "I don't know where my parents are. As far as I know, they could be looking for me. I don't want them to find me, I know that much."

"You can't ignore them for the rest of eternity," Sam said.

"I know," I said, lowering my head. I unbuckled my seatbelt, moving over to the control panel. I brought up a radar on a flip down screen and made it easy to monitor. As soon as the Guys in White got a plane, they'd be on our tails again.

Sam and Tucker came over and they started working themselves. Tucker was doing something with a computer and Sam was securing everything in case of a roll. I went to the back and activated the emergency deploying devices. It was a worst case scenario but I'd rather have them just in case.

O_O

We stayed ahead of them for hours using a cloaking device Tucker activated however they did eventually catch up to us after three. We buckled up and prepared to hang in there. Auto Jack done barrel rolls and other techniques to throw them off. I kept my eyes glued to the radar and for the moment we were okay. However, as the hour waged on, more agents started to appear on radar. With more agents, it was harder to escape without getting hit. The shield took care of the blasts but I knew if they found where the shield was, they could knock it out.

I transformed, passing through the seatbelt. I turned invisible and transferred that invisibility to the rest of the ship. I could see the ground and the clouds rush past but the GiW couldn't see us. Mission complete!

**AN: Reviews would be appreciated. In case you are wondering, the scene with the GIW is different than the scene in Reality Trip. This is my second favorite episode but I can't stand how easy it was for Danny to get away from the GIW. The whole episode seems forced anyway so I decided that they "changed" that to save time. Lol.**

**According to the timeline I'm driving, in one day it will be one month since Danny went into premature labor. He is twenty-eight weeks pregnant now and while he is claiming he is huge, he's not really. Danny has always been a small boy; toned, not muscled. To him, he is the biggest thing on the planet but really, he looks like he has become a little bulkier. With the big shirt he wears, it looks like he is maybe getting muscles. Even when Vlad had the vultures turn the gym wall intangible, Danny wasn't all that big. This is in Danny's POV and he would comment about him being huge. I wanted to clear this up.**

**For those of you who may read the companions, I have lost interest in doing them. I don't think anyone reads them and I think it would be better to do a QA. I will finish up New Beginnings' chapter companions but they might not show up until after I finish the series. I barely have time to proofread the story and post it. Once I get into Danny's Story, Part 3: Deliverance I will go through the chapters I have written since and catch up. I'll let you know when I have done this. To anyone who reads those (if anyone exists), I'm sorry. I just think it's a waste of my time.**

**Thank you,**

**Team04Phantom**


	16. Chapter 16

**Disclaimer: I don't own Danny Phantom or Reality Trip.**

**Warning: This story contains reference to rape, sexual content, male sex and pedophilia. If any of this disturbs you, please do not read.**

**Chapter 16: Traveling the Country**

I refused to drop that invisibility. I was losing that battle as the hours turned into an entire night. As the sky started to light up somewhere over Minnesota, I finally couldn't hold the invisibility anymore and collapsed. The ship reappeared.

"Come on," Sam said. "Let's get something to eat," she replied. I was starving so I agreed. Several hours later, an alarm started going off, alerting me to an incoming call. We had managed to escape the GiW's sensors and as long as we stayed in the air, we were fine. However, I still hadn't heard from my parents and after all this time, I knew I wouldn't be able to avoid that conversation forever.

"That's probably my parents," I said, sadly. I walked over, accepting the call.

"Oh, hello," Freakshow greeted. "Hope I'm not interrupting the worse week of your life, ever! But it seems I need your help."

A fire burned in my gut and I'm not talking about heartburn. "You miserable Freak! Why would I ever help you?"

"Did I say need," Freakshow taunted, "I meant demand! You've got something I want and I've got something you want." He laughed out obnoxiously.

Sam gasped, "He's got my parents!"

"He's got all of our parents," Tucker retorted.

"Moms! Dads," I cried.

"Your families in return for my gems," Freakshow demanded. "If you ever want to see them alive again! Oh, and to keep it more dramatic, I'll give you three days!" He laughed out again, cutting off the feed.

"Three days," I cried. "But we don't even know where the gems are!"

"School being out or not, you really should listen more," Sam declared. "We're the ones who hid the gems, remember. So they're safe and sound at Gothapollosa."

"But I was thinking about the comic convention," Tucker said.

"And I was thinking about the launch pad," I said, embarrassed.

"Looks like we're getting that cross country vacation after all," Tucker said.

I pulled up a map on the screen. "Starting here," I replied, pointing to Florida.

O_O

We arrived in Florida late the next day. Tucker was not happy with going to Florida first but I had to choose by what gem was more dangerous. I think a gem that can bring things to life is more dangerous than gem that can alter something and a gem that can bring to life fantasies. When we approached the shuttle launch, I knew that they should be in the process of closing down. I walked to the front of the ops center and looked out.

"According to Freakshows book, the gems are activated by touch," Sam replied. "If we're lucky, this should be easy!"

I saw something out in the distance and I struggled to see what it was. As we got closer, the object became more clear. My eyes widened as I saw what it is.

"It's never easy, is it," Sam said simply.

"Never," I said. How the hell am I going to beat a space shuttle?

It took every bit of my strength to keep up with the thing. Even with all the speed I can generate, I had to use bursts of speed to keep up with it. When I retrieved the gem, it started to pummel to the ground. I had two choices: fly it or try to catch it. This thing weighs more than you could ever imagine. I'm gonna try to fly it.

I knew how to operate the basic commands of this thing and I guessed with the rest of it. I was a nervous wreck when Sam and Tucker refused to leave the ship and the shuttle started to fall towards it. When it landed, I was ecstatic. "The Eagle has landed," I cried, living out a dream. "In tact!"

"Attention Daniel Fenton a.k.a. Danny Phantom, give yourself up," I heard a voice. I was floating in clear view and they still shot at the ops center. I felt my heart constrict and I gasped but Sam and Tucker had reached the deploying devices. Even though they were still in the ops center when the GiW shot them, the compartment they were in was protected.

"Yes," I cried. The Guys in White started attacking Sam and Tucker but they managed to stay ahead of them on the ATVs. I grabbed the vehicles and sunk them through the ground, taking them to safety. "I should kill them," I screamed once we reappeared outside of town.

"Just remain calm," Sam said. "We'll get through this."

"At least we got one of the gems," I said, holding it up. I summoned a thermos to my side, removing it and dropping the gem inside. "Put you somewhere your ghostly energy can't get out." I returned the thermos to my side and it disappeared on my human form.

"We'll never make it cross-country on these things," Sam declared.

I floated over to her, pushing a button. "Now we will," I declared once the transformation was complete. Tucker done the same thing and we headed off.

O_O

We travelled all through the night and I took over for either Sam and Tucker periodically while they rode behind me and got some sleep. I tried to keep them as safe and comfortable as possible but it was getting difficult. When we stopped to eat, I tried to eat healthy and relax. I couldn't sleep because I needed to keep my eyes open. It was going on the fourth night that I've had no sleep and while on any other circumstances that would be fine it was not okay. I was six months pregnant and completely exhausted. I didn't dwell on what was happening with me but I certainly couldn't ignore it.

We arrived in the fairgrounds really late that night but I could see lights shining over the hill. I didn't alert Sam and Tucker to the problem but I knew it was probably the gem. When we arrived, a sea of Care Bear wanna-bes met us. Sam stared in shock and I couldn't hide the smile on my face.

"We love you," they cried out. They started jumping on us and while I allowed them to hang on me, Sam and Tucker were tossing them away, Sam actually ripping limbs and heads from the dolls.

"Destroy them, Danny," Sam declared. "Find the gem that did this and rip the stuffing out of every last one of them!"

"Somehow, I don't think that's necessary," I chuckled at her. Tucker was trying to shake one off his leg. "May I have the gem of fantasy?"

"Say the magic word," the chorused.

"Die," Sam spat.

I chuckled some more, "Please?"

The teddy bears parted and the leader bear brought me the gem. "Thank you," I said, pointing the gem above everything. What Gothapollosa was supposed to look like returned. At Sam's feet were a couple people with big boo-boos. "Oops," I said as I summoned the thermos. I used the gem to heal them and used the red gem to revive one she ripped the head off.

A blast came from over the hill and I turned in surprise. Damn, if they don't have bad timing! I grabbed Sam and Tucker, hitching a ride on a truck headed west.

"Get some rest, Danny," Sam said. "You'll need your strength when you face Freakshow."

"I will," I said, closing my eyes. I opened them again as I imagined someone barging in unannounced. Sam and Tucker fell asleep in my arms and I breathed deeply. I'll just rest with my eyes open.

O_O

The truck came to a sudden stop and I woke Sam and Tucker up. I turned them invisible and we sneaked out of the truck. We were still in the middle of nowhere on a highway. A roadblock sat up ahead. I started to fly away when I heard a voice: "Radar!"

I turned around, surprised, "Samuels?"

"Show yourself, son," Samuels said. I landed back on the ground, turning visible. I was in human form so I didn't have to worry about him having a reaction. I know he knows. Hell, everyone knows but that doesn't mean hearing my voice and seeing someone else wouldn't surprise him. "I've been looking for you everywhere," he declared.

"I'm sorry," I said, my throat clogging.

"Where are your parents? I came into Fentonworks and the damn Guys in White had set up shop there!"

"Mom, Dad and Jazz have been kidnapped," I said, "along with Tucker and Sam's parents. We're collecting gems to get them back."

"What gems," he replied.

"The Reality Gauntlet," Sam replied. "He's got the gauntlet and the power source."

"Don't worry, Radar. I've got your back," he replied. "We're doing everything we can."

"We," I said, confused.

"You've got a loyal base back home," Samuels chuckled. "They've been calling and saying they spotted you somewhere. Thing is, it's as far away as you can be and we have agents there to arrest them. We've arrested over a thousand GiW agents and as soon as I get my hands on that dirty, no good double crossing President of the GiW, I will shut them down."

"They destroyed the ops center and nearly killed Sam and Tucker—twice!"

"They're history, Radar," Samuels said. "Let's go. I can get you where you need to go."

"Thanks," I replied. "I'm worried sick."

"Don't worry, Radar," Samuels said, ushering us towards the plane. "Your parents are smart. They'll know what to do."

"I'm sorry, Samuels. I tried to keep this a secret," I said, hanging my head. We boarded a plane.

"I'm impressed," Samuels said. "You shouldn't have kept it from me but I understand why you did. You've kept this under wraps for five months."

"Nine," Sam corrected. "The first ghost attacked on September 15, 2004."

"Everyone has said it started on December twenty-first!"

"That's when it was exposed to them," Tucker replied. "Danny has been fighting the ghosts since September."

"My goodness," Samuels said. "Radar, I am very impressed. You did good, son."

"No, I didn't," I replied. "Everyone knows ghosts exist. Everyone knows my secret. Hell, everyone knows a humble little TV show is pure hard fact!"

"Now that's something I can't protect you from," Samuels said, laughing. "That show is creating a lot of buzz."

"Great," I groaned. "I knew it would come out but I was so hoping it wouldn't."

"That's what's the biggest headline," Samuels declared. "No one outside of Amity Park and Division G knew about ghosts. The big reveal is 'Nick cartoon detailing supernatural life of real teen'!"

I groaned, "Why me?"

"Where are you guys heading," Samuels asked me.

"San Diego California," I replied. "The Comic Con."

"Shouldn't you be more focused," Samuels said a little hesitantly.

"That's where the gem is," I groaned. "We sent the gems to where we had planned to vacay! Now we have to get them back or Freakshow will kill our parents."

"Did you check on my Granny," Sam cried. "I don't know if Mom and Dad left her alone or not!"

"Ida Manson," Samuels replied. "Yeah, she's okay. She sought me out when I went to Fentonworks. I have my men guarding her so that she's not subjected to the stress."

"Thank goodness," Sam sighed. "Now to save Mr. and Mrs. Fenton and Mr. and Mrs. Foley."

"Wasn't your parents kidnapped," Samuels asked.

"Yeah," Sam said, her voice soft. She didn't say anything more.

"Sam and her parents don't get along," I replied. "We'll save your parents, too, Sam. We have to."

"No we don't," Sam replied. "If it was just them, I would leave them to rot!"

"Well, our Moms and Dads are there," Tucker retorted. "So we can't leave the Manson's behind."

"I'm just saying," Sam said, smacking her lips together. "Danny, get some rest. We're safe now!"

"All three of you get some rest," Samuels replied. "You'll need your strengths."

"I can't sleep now, guys," I said. "If I go to sleep now, I won't wake up. I've got to make it a few more hours."

"All that's going to do is hurt you," Tucker said. "Come on, Danny. Get some sleep."

"I'm fine," I replied. "Is there a kitchen on this plane?"

"Yeah," Samuels replied. "Come on, children. You can eat something."

"Thank goodness," I replied. "I haven't had anything in six hours."

"Radar," Samuels said, stopping to look at me.

"He eats small frequent meals because of his ghost powers," Sam replied. "He has no taste buds so he eats these small meals to stay in a pattern."

"You should see the tummy he's developed," Tucker laughed. I kept my head down, not wanting to get involved in this conversation. They had no idea what my waist looks like.

O_O

When we arrived at the comic convention, I was appalled. The sheer number of people dressed like me (cartoon me, that is) was overwhelming. I knew it was my cartoon version from the angle of their hair. Mine fell more naturally while the cartoon's version was more pointy and shapely. Sam and Tucker thought that the people here had just messed up but I told them what was really going off. I knew I was in so much trouble for not telling them about the show but I'll really be in trouble when all this slows down and they realize how long the show has been on.

When the gem turned the three geeks into super villains (I really need to know my luck better, not comics), Samuels was highly surprised. "Does this happen a lot?"

"This week," I replied.

"Yes," all three of us retorted.

"Our lives are normally only a fraction of the chaos going on right now," Tucker said. I took off after the geeks.

They were strong but I was more concerned with hurting them. They were, after all, innocent. Sam, Tucker and Samuels didn't really have a prayer to keep up with me so I was completely on my own. I know when I go to face Freakshow I will be in a pickle but for the moment I need to focus on the here and now. As if I wasn't in enough of a situation, the Guys in White finally caught up to us and made it even worse. While the geeks were dealing with the GiW, I took the opportunity to steal the gem. I transformed them back just as Sam, Tucker and Samuels caught up with me.

"Contain them," Samuels ordered, pointing to the two agents that have chased us since Amity Park.

"Who do you think you are," the main agent demanded.

"It doesn't matter who I think I am," Samuels retorted sharply. "It matters who they think they are!" About sixty Marines circled them. "It doesn't matter what his DNA says. This kid is still the damn best ghost hunter around."

"Thanks, Samuels," I said, smiling at him. It was finally over. "We have all three gems," I declared.

"Now to save our parents," Tucker declared.

I secured the thermos's top, "We need to keep these out of Freakshow's grasp. We have all three but he only has one. It should be a lot easier for us to get the last two pieces."

"Um, guys," Sam said.

"We just need to work together," Tucker replied. Suddenly, we were surrounded by Lydia's tattoos and I knew we were in trouble.

"Hey," I made out Samuels's screams. "What about me?!"

In the blink of an eye, we disappeared from the big city and collapsed on a hard ground.

"Look what the bats dragged in," Freakshow taunted a few feet away. "With my Reality gems."

I pulled the thermos out, determined to keep them close to me, "I don't think so!" The tattoos slipped between my hands and wrenched the thermos from my hands. "Ut oh."

Freakshow opened the thermos as we were wrapped up in the tattoos. I fought against the bond but I couldn't summon the strength to break them. "The gem of Life," Freakshow said in awe.

"Danny, stop him," Sam screamed.

"I can't break free," I cried.

"The gem of Form," Freakshow continued. Finally, he slipped in the last gem: "The gem of Fantasy. And thanks to you, I now know the activation code!" He laughed out.

"I brought you the gems," I declared. I had to get them to safety. Once they were out of the way, I could take care of Freakshow. "We had a deal!"

"The deal was bring me the gems if you ever wanted to see them alive again," Freakshow said, looking at me. What? "Well, here they are: alive—for now!" Freakshow pointed behind him to where our families were being held captive and they disappeared in a puff of smoke. My heart quickened when he pointed it in our direction. Puffs of smoke surrounded me and I saw Sam and Tucker vanish. No, no, no!

"You lied to me," I realized. I didn't know what was going off but I know I've been made the fool.

"Yes. Yes, I did," Freakshow said. "Goody for me. But it wouldn't be real if it didn't have drama. Now, to make me the Ringmaster of all reality!" Freakshow pointed the gauntlet to the sky and things started to change. As he started making the transformation, I caught glimpse of something in the distance. An enormous rollercoaster sat miles from where we were. My family and the Manson's were in it. They're alive! "A Kingdom fit for a freak and a freakdom fit for a king! Ladies and Freaks, if I may have your attention." I looked around and thousands of people sat in the stands dressed as clowns. I have a bad feeling about this.

"Danny Fenton a.k.a. Danny Phantom is about to attempt to rescue his family from a creation of my own fantasy. Do you want to see him try?"

The crowd went wild as Freakshow pointed the gauntlet in my direction. My pulse quickened as the tattoos ceased restricting me. I turned to my family as Freakshow said, "I'm giving you a fair chance. Take it."

Freakshow activated the rollercoaster and I blasted into the air. I crossed the five or so miles I assumed I was away from them relatively quick. The best way to go about this would be to catch the rollercoaster. I landed a few loops from where the rollercoaster was when I arrived. A blast surrounded me and I couldn't move. I looked down to find myself transformed into some kind of liquidly substance.

I groaned in slight panic. "What did you—," I asked as I realized what was about to happen. I tried to escape the bond but the rollercoaster appeared right in front of me. "Oh, man!" Immense pain shot through me as the rollercoaster passed where I was trapped. Things became so muddy and I couldn't figure out what was happening. That wouldn't kill me, right? I can't be dead. If I'm dead, that means my family is dead.

I could still feel my energy within my spirit. This was not the end. This was nowhere near what I felt through the King. Freakshow might have destroyed my body but he didn't destroy me. I just need to coalesce that energy I feel. It happens every time I'm injured. I began to summon the energy around me and slowly the muddy scene became clear again. I was extremely weak but I shook it off. I blasted into the sky, going after my family.

A giant clown head shot a blast of fire out about a hundred feet from where my family was. I added more strength as I pulled up a shield. I blocked the fire from killing them.

"Danny," I heard Jazz cry out in joy.

"He's alive," Dad screamed.

"He's got ghost envy," Jazz screamed, "Use psychology!"

"Psychology," I said to myself. I powered up a blast, shooting the clown before it could fire again. "That's it!"

I took off again, finding the next peril my family faced. I blasted these two large boulders into pebbles, smiling as I couldn't see any more dangers. I guess he didn't count on them making it this far.

"Oh, no," I heard a booming voice behind me. I turned around to see Freakshow, bigger than life. "You do not get to leave this world with a smile!"

"Why wouldn't I smile," I said, pushing down the exhaustion and worry. I needed to display enjoyment so that I could anger him. My best choice was to make him make the mistake. "So what if you're the most powerful human in the world. I'm half ghost and you're not!"

"I'm the Master of Reality," Freakshow said, trying to hide how much that fact did upset him.

"Yeah, well, can you do this," I asked, elongating myself. The crowd started to react.

"He's not the star of this circus! I am! Me," Freakshow cried.

"Ghost powers, ghost energy, ghost, ghost, ghost," I cried out in mockery as I shot energy at his hat. I formed a smiley face.

"Enough," Freakshow screamed, smacking me with the gauntlet. Pain shot through my body from the contact and I felt my structure crack inside. I would have a few broken bones from that. I looked up weakly. "I may be losing control of the crowd but I control all reality. And if you think being half ghost is so cool," Freakshow said, the gauntlet glowing. Please, please, please! "What do you think of me now that I'm all ghost?"

Yes! "I think this just got a lot easier," I declared, summoning a second thermos to my side. I pointed it at him, trapping him. Thank goodness, the gauntlet remained on the outside. I dropped the thermos in a hurry and picked up the gauntlet, flying towards my family. A giant toxic pool, literally, waited for them. I pointed my hand at the pool and thought about a regular pool. They landed in the pool harmlessly as the rollercoaster sunk to the bottom. They rose to the top.

"Are you guys okay," I asked as I landed on the pool. I could have imagined a vat of chocolate for Dad but Sam's allergic. Thank goodness I didn't. I saw the Manson's glaring at me. "Hello, Mr. and Mrs. Manson." A faint signature of a ghost sat behind me and I knew it was Lydia. She was not happy about what I did to her boyfriend. "And as for you," I said, catching her in the path of the glove. I transformed her to anything that came to mind. That was enough for her and she flew away screaming. I reversed reality back to normal, the crowd returning to wherever they were when Freakshow kidnapped them. I landed on the ground, triggering my rings and my broken bones healed immediately.

"Young man," I heard Mom declare. I looked in the direction of my family, Mom and Dad standing the closest to me. Time to face facts.

"I-I'm sorry," I said, feeling the weight crashing down around me. I'm finally going to lose her.

Mom grabbed me up in a death grip hug, "Oh, my baby boy." She started kissing me over and over. I was shocked.

"But I lied to you," I said in shock. Shouldn't they be firing at me? Shouldn't they hate me? "Over and over! I thought you'd be furious."

"Of course you lied to us, sweetie," Mom said. "We never gave you a reason not to."

"With all the blather about dissecting and destroying ghosts, I'd been terrified too," Dad said.

"We love you, sweetie, you," Mom said and I felt the tears bubble. "And we always will."

I hugged them tightly, "And I appreciate that," I said, embracing my parents. "More than you guys will ever know." As I pulled away, I caught a glimpse of the gauntlet. "Or ever will." I pointed the gauntlet at them, imaging a world where they didn't know about any of the events of the past week. Sam and Tucker stared at me in shock as Mom and Dad Number Two stared at me in horror.

"What does that thing do," Mom Number Two demanded.

"Sorry," I shrugged. "This way, I can tell them myself," I said, pointing to the Foley's and the Manson's. I imagined the same world.

"What's going on," Mom asked aloud. She turned around. "Where are we? What are we doing here?"

"It's a long story, Mom," I said, smiling. They accepted me. My dreams were right all along. I want them to know, but I want them to know on my terms. They shouldn't discover this over a television.

I looked to the sky as I heard a loud engine. A few moments later, everyone else looked up as the Foley's and the Manson's snapped out of the shock. A plane landed in the field and I recognized it as a Division G plane. Samuels departed the plane.

"Radar," Samuels called. "Maddie! Jack! Thank goodness you're okay."

"Samuels," Mom called. "What's going on? I don't understand."

Samuels's eyes traced my arm and realization lit them. "No, Radar! Don't even think about it! No!"

"Sorry," I said, pointing the gauntlet at him. I imagined the same world, also making him forget about the ghosts. "Let's go," I said.

"Yeah," Sam said, "before you collapse!"

"I'm not going to collapse," I chuckled. No one understood any of this but we all boarded the plane and flew back to Amity Park. I don't know where we were but I was ready to put this horrible week behind me. This is definitely the worst week of my life.

O_O

Sam and Tucker helped me navigate to my room. Man, once the adrenaline stopped pumping did I ever hit rock bottom. I swayed as Sam and Tucker kept me on target. I saw my bed and I had never saw a more beautiful sight. I collapsed on my bed but it felt hard for some reason. Oh, well. At least I can sleep now. In the distance, I heard Sam and Tucker chuckle.

O_O

It was morning the next day when I came downstairs. "There you are," Mom replied. "Sam, Tucker and Jazz haven't woke up yet."

"I saw Sam and Tucker upstairs," I said, opening the fridge. "I didn't figure Jazz would be up either. Did you sleep well?"

"Yeah," Mom said, a little unsure. "I had a weird dream but I'm sure it was nothing."

I hummed as I poured me a glass of apple juice. "Is Dad up?"

"He's in the lab," Mom replied. "You kids actually slept longer than your father. I guess you kids had fun at the concert last night."

"What," I said, looking at her. Oh, the concert. "That wasn't last night," I said.

"What are you talking about," Mom replied. "School let out yesterday. Sam and Tucker wanted to postpone the trip to get some sleep. With you collapsing last night, I thought it was a good idea."

"Come again," I asked. I was seriously confused.

"Sam and Tucker said you collapsed five feet from your bed," Mom chuckled. "They had to put you in bed."

"That's why my bed felt hard last night," I said, chuckling. "But last night wasn't the concert. That was last week."

"Sweetheart, school just let out yesterday," Mom replied. She turned on the television, "See, it's the thirteenth—," she paused in horror. "What?!"

"The thirteenth," I cried, surprised.

"But," Mom said. "That can't be… yesterday was your birthday!"

"Hell of a birthday gift," I mumbled.

"How the heck did a week pass in a day," Mom declared.

"More reaction to the identity of the ghost kid," the news reporter replied and I gasped.

"Excuse me," I said, flipping off the television in an instant. I really need to take care of the rest of the town.

"What did that say," Mom asked.

"Nothing," I replied. "I'll be back." I ran out the door, grabbing the paper and ran down the street. I grabbed the Manson's paper. "What good is this going to do," I declared. "All they have to do is turn on a TV or get a phone call!" I ran back to the house, running up the stairs. I started to tear my room apart looking for the Reality Gauntlet. Where was it?

"Danny," Sam's sleepy voice came out. "What are you doing up?"

"I need to erase the rest of the planet's memory," I declared. "All they have to do is turn on a TV!"

"The Gauntlet's in your cubby," Tucker said. He yawned loudly. I went into what used to be my closet and removed the piece of drywall. Inside sat the gauntlet.

"Thank goodness," I replied. "You guys get some sleep. I'm going to take care of this mess." I removed the gauntlet and the thermos sat below it. I picked it up as well.

O_O

I removed the Guys in White from the Division G cell reluctantly and returned them to their work stations. "Here," I called, tossing the thermos, "A gift!"

The thermos cracked from the added pressure and Freakshow emerged. I used the gauntlet to return him to normal. I started to fly away but I stopped, feeling embarrassed. "Oh, and you're going to leave Danny Fenton and his family alone!"

"Why would we do that," the main Guy in White demanded.

I held up the gauntlet. "Because he's not the ghost you're looking for," I declared.

"He's not the ghost we're looking for," they repeated in a trance. I flew out of their headquarters. When I returned home, Sam and Tucker were waiting for me on the steps.

"Got everything taken care of," Sam asked.

"Yep," I replied. "Freakshow was returned to the Guys in White, I'll call Samuels and get him to seize custody of Freakshow, no one knows about my secret or more importantly the show's accuracy and the rest of the world doesn't know about ghosts."

"Hey, Fentonio, Orlando and Dawn," a voice called. I hid the gauntlet behind my back. "What are you three still doing in town?"

"Yeah," Paulina declared. "Weren't you three taking a trip to loserville or something? Wait! You're already there!" They started laughing as they walked down the street. Sam and Tucker came to stand beside me, glaring at the King and Queen.

"Oh, man," I mumbled, remembering what it was like when they were on our side. "Everything's the way it used to be," I grumbled. "Oh, well. We should be able to go on our family vacation now."

"Uh, Danny," Sam said. Oh, no. "No offense, but pass."

"Yeah, we've already had one cross-country trip together and I don't think we could take another."

"I guess," I sighed. "Well, it's time to destroy this thing once and for all," I said, transforming. I lifted into the air, tossing the gauntlet in the air. I shot a beam, blowing it into a million pieces.

"Hey, ghost kid," I heard a voice. I turned in the direction to see Dad in the window upstairs. "When I get my hands on you, I'm going to tear you apart molecule by molecule!"

"Have a great summer," I called, waving at him. I flew off so I could circle back when I felt a blast on my back end. "Ow!" I knew I'd get punished but I never imagined it'd be like this!

Sam and Tucker actually met me before I could circle back. We went to HQ so we could have some privacy.

"Just to be safe," Tucker asked. "What kind of image did you put in the Guys in White's minds?"

"I told them that I wasn't the ghost they were looking for," I replied, sitting down on the couch.

"So they won't be hunting Phantom anymore," Sam asked, surprised.

"Not Phantom," I declared. "Fenton!"

"Danny," both declared in anger.

"What," I asked, surprised.

"Then what kind of ghost is he," Sam demanded.

"I didn't—oh," I chuckled nervously. "I guess I'm still not so clearheaded."

"Well, if we're lucky, they won't figure it out," Tucker sighed. He collapsed on the couch beside me. "How could you not still be tired?"

"I got hours of sleep," I declared. "We came in at what, eight last night?"

"Eight-thirty," Sam said drily.

"I got up at seven," I replied. "I slept for eleven hours!"

"Still," Sam replied. "Look how long you went without sleep and what happened to you yesterday."

"I don't think I'll ever eat Jell-O again," I declared. Sam and Tucker smacked me unexpectedly. "What?!"

"Don't you ever do that again," Sam declared. "You're about to be smacked by a rollercoaster as Jell-O and your last words were 'oh man'!"

"What would you preferred I had said," I asked, laughing. "I didn't have a whole lot of time to give a speech."

"You could have said anything," Sam declared.

"We're missing the point," Tucker said sadly. "We were lucky yesterday. If Freakshow hadn't screwed up and reformed him, we all could have died yesterday."

"Freakshow didn't reform me," I replied. "I pulled myself back together."

"You mean he didn't," Sam said, in surprise. "Oh, my God."

"I didn't mess up there, did I," I asked. "You guys are more at ease, right?"

"Are you kidding," Sam said, attaching to me. "I thought that he had killed you! I'm so relieved!"

I wrapped my arm around her. "It wasn't enough," I said softly, stroking her back. She tried to act like she was relieved but I saw through her façade. She was devastated to learn that. If Freakshow returned me, there were no outside forces. Now that she knows that I did it, she knows that it could have ended very differently. "He doesn't know ghost make-up like we do."

"Were you scared," Tucker asked me softly.

"Terrified," I replied. "I was afraid I couldn't do it in time and you guys would get killed. I knew I could come back but you guys were on borrowed time. One mistake and what did I have to live for?"

"I meant when you were hit by the rollercoaster," Tucker demanded.

"A little," I replied. "That's one thing you guys have got to get used to. You will feel fear when you do these kinds of things but you can't let it paralyze you. I hope I can prepare you better than I was prepared."

"We'll be fine," Tucker smiled softly. "We have an excellent teacher."

I leaned back on the couch, holding Sam to my chest. She didn't want to let go and I didn't want to either. Yesterday came way too damn close for comfort.

O_O

That night, I awoke to my door opening softly. I gently peeked my eyes open as to not allow the person to know I was awake. My door closed behind the shadowed figure and once the light vanished, I saw Mom walk in the room slowly. Sam and Tucker slept on their cots and Mom glanced at them briefly but she made a slow and soft approach to my bed. She gently wheeled my computer chair out and sat down. I noticed tear streaks on her face.

Mom rubbed my hand with hers but because my hand was under the sheet, she couldn't feel my temperature. She used her free hand to swipe the hair from my face. What was wrong with her? She's never done this before. What is she thinking?

_I don't understand it_, Mom's voice returned to me in a broken state. _Why would I have that dream and more importantly why would I have these feelings? It wasn't Danny in my dream so why do I feel like I lost my son? It was Phantom for crying out loud! I should not be feeling this way._

_My baby boy_, Mom thought softly to herself after a pause. _You're not a baby anymore. You're fifteen years old now; a man. Soon, you'll grow up and move out in the world. I can't protect you from everything, not even now, but I will always be there for you. Why do I feel like this? Why would I have that dream? What could it mean?_

_I love you, Danny. More than you'll ever know. More than I could ever hope for you to love me. I would die for you but when you needed me in my dream, I couldn't do anything for you. Stupid, Maddie! It wasn't Danny. It was Phantom. So why did I die inside when that rollercoaster smacked him._

I gasped on instinct, causing Mom to flinch back and Sam and Tucker to jump to their feet. Tucker turned on the light, staring at Mom in shock. "What's going on?"

"Sorry," Mom said, wiping her tears away. "I shouldn't have come in here!"

"No, Mom. It's okay," I replied. "I'm sorry I startled you. You can stay there as long as you want."

"Mrs. Fenton, are you okay," Sam asked.

"I just had a stupid dream," Mom said, laughing weakly. "I thought seeing for myself that Danny was okay would help put my mind at rest."

"Did you dream that he wasn't okay," Tucker asked.

"Kind of," Mom said, a little distracted_. It wasn't really him. But I felt as if it was him. Oh, this is so confusing!_ "You kids go back to sleep. I'll see you in the morning."

"Goodnight, Mom," I replied. Mom stood up and walked out of the room. She turned out the light on her way out.

"What was that about," Sam asked as she snuggled back into her cot.

"Mom dreamed about the rollercoaster," I said, my voice serious.

"What," Tucker declared in a hushed tone.

"Apparently, she had the dream of Phantom being smacked by a rollercoaster but she had the feeling it was me. This isn't good," I replied.

"Can someone really beat the Reality Gauntlet," Sam asked.

"You know more about it than I do," I retorted.

"I'll have to do some research. Maybe look it up in the library tomorrow."

"We can go to the castle," I replied. I snuggled down into my bed again. "Goodnight."

"Goodnight," Tucker replied as Sam mumbled. She had a lot on her mind.

O_O

When morning arrived, we came downstairs. The house reeked of coffee and I knew that Mom never got back to sleep. Sam and Tucker went for the coffee pot while I went to get me something to eat that would produce the same feeling without endangering my little one. Mom sat at the kitchen table, a mug of coffee sitting in front of her. I started rummaging around in the refrigerator. "Did you get back to sleep at all last night," I asked softly.

"I tried," Mom said, putting her head down. "That darn dream just wouldn't let go of me. You don't need to worry, honey. I'm sure there's nothing to worry about."

"I just don't want you to go sleepless," I replied. I pulled out my English muffins, eggs, and fresh fruit. "You could get hurt in the lab if you go too long without sleep."

"You're one to talk," Sam snorted. "Look how long you went without sleep."

"That was an emergency," I defended. "You know as well as I that I have got four to five hours of sleep nightly in the past two months!"

"True," Sam said as she sat down. I walked over to the counter but for some reason I was having difficulty.

"Danny," Tucker asked me after a moment. "Why are you wobbling?"

"I have no idea," I said as I placed my English muffin on the toaster oven pan. "You guys want some of this?"

"Sure," Sam smiled.

"That would be great," Mom added with a tired smile.

"Muffin me up," Tucker said. "I'll add the good stuff!"

Soft noises coming from upstairs told me that Jazz had finally awoken. I placed a fifth muffin half on the pan and slipped it into the oven. I turned the timer and went to work on chopping the fruit. Tucker walked over to the stove with three different kinds of meat. I've lost my appetite for meat as of late but I still eat it. It just tastes rubbery, a sure sign Lilly doesn't want it.

"Did you hurt your foot or anything," Mom asked me.

"No," I replied. "I'm just a little tired. It's probably exhaustion related."

"It wouldn't surprise me," Sam said, scolding. She was furious that I allowed myself to get so sleepy that I had that much trouble. I don't see what choice I had. For the first few days, we were alone and fugitives. When Samuels arrived, though, I needed sleep so badly that I wouldn't wake up for hours if I did fall asleep. I think I proved that but Sam still isn't relenting.

"How long did you go without sleep," Mom asked me.

"Way too long," I said, winded. "I slept for eleven hours, remember?"

"You collapsed five feet from your bed," Sam declared in an uproar. "You were so tired, you couldn't function!"

"Oh, Sam," I scolded. "I was tired but I wasn't that tired. Can we drop this now?"

"For now," Sam said, narrowing her eyes. "But we will certainly discuss it when we leave in a little while!"

"Where are you kids going," Mom asked.

"The library," Sam replied.

"Yip-ee," both Tucker and I said sarcastically.

"Oh, can it you two. Just because it's summer doesn't mean that we have to shut down academically."

"You wouldn't let us," Tucker declared.

"We'd be more than happy to shut down for the rest of the week."

"Oh, no," Sam declared. I looked at her funny. "We lost a week!"

"Yep," I said, sighing.

"We what," Tucker said looking to possibly burst into tears.

I brought over the fruit and went to remove the muffins. "We've got it lucky, guys. Imagine how everyone else feels. One minute it's the last day of school and the next it's six days later. It's almost enough to make me feel guilty. Almost."

Sam and Tucker started giggling. "I can see your point. I wouldn't take it back either," Sam added with her giggles.

"Hey," Tucker added after his fit. "Do you have those episodes?"

"Are you kidding," I asked in surprise. "No! I tolerate watching it once… which reminds me. A new one comes on this week. You guys don't want to watch it, right?"

"Wrong," Sam demanded. "I want to see this thing. See what they've done."

"You're wanting to torture me," I groaned. Jazz walked in the room. "Morning, Jazz."

"Good morning, sunshine," Jazz said cheerily. How could anyone be that cheery? "Did you sleep well?"

"Yeah," I replied, bringing two plates over. I made the same trip three times. "I made you my breakfast."

"Since when has English muffins, eggs, and fresh fruit been Danny's breakfast," Jazz giggled.

"Since this dang heartburn," I said. "I find that it really does help and it's keeping me at a healthy weight."

"Speaking of weight," Mom replied. "How much do you weigh now?"

I hummed in slight fear. That's the reason I have a three X shirt on. To prevent them from seeing the true size of my stomach. "I weigh enough."

"Not gonna cut it," Mom replied. "Do I need to do an examination?"

"No," I declared. I knew I done that too quickly when Mom raised her eyebrow. "I mean, it's not necessary. I weigh around one-twenty."

"One-twenty," Sam and Tucker declared in shock. "Danny?"

"I'm suspicious now," Mom replied. "It's one thing to deny an exam but to tell me a large number so openly. Lift the shirt."

"What," I asked, my throat swelling.

"You heard me," Mom replied. "Over the head."

"But," I asked, my heart starting to push the two hundred mark.

"Now," Mom said, pushing her chair back. She walked over to me. Come on, Danny. Wake up or show me this is a dream or something.

"Please," I said, pleading both her and the fates. She crossed her arms across her chest. "You're going to freak," I said, pulling my shirt up slowly. I guess she got so impatient that she grabbed it and ripped it over my head.

Sam, Tucker and Jazz gasped as I cringed. "Why is it so… compacted," Mom asked me in shock.

"I don't know," I replied, reaching for my shirt. She kept it out of my reach.

"I swear… I swear it looks like you're—." Sam couldn't dare speak the truth. If I was a girl, the shape would be unmistakable but since I'm a guy, they can't piece it together.

Tucker mumbled an agreement. "That's ridiculous," Jazz declared. "It's just compacting around his waist for some reason."

"Exactly," I said, snatching my shirt successfully. I slipped it over my head. "Hopefully, in the next, say, two months, it'll become more equally distributed."

"I just can't believe how much weight you've gained from the last two months," Mom said. I grabbed a pan and began to fry my egg in canola oil. "I guess it is all those frequent meals."

"It really has helped," I answered. "Before, I would just rather go without eating because I couldn't taste anything. Now, I eat on a schedule and I'm no longer skin and bones."

"Yeah," Tucker said. "You're all belly! No wonder you waddle!"

"I still do fine," I replied. "It hasn't slowed down my ghost hunting."

"I'm still concerned," Sam said. "Why on Earth would it take that shape of all shapes?"

"Like I said, in about two months, I should start rounding out… the good way."

O_O

Dad came down when I was washing the dishes. I stood up to do mine and everyone else seemed to finish at the same time so I went ahead and did them. Mom was exhausted as it was. I didn't want to overburden her. "Morning, Dad," I answered.

"Morning," Dad greeted me. "How are things this morning?"

"Our son is pregnant," Mom replied and the dish I was washing slipped out of my hand. "Danny?"

"What," Dad asked, his eyes wide.

"Well, it certainly looks that way," Mom replied, walking over to me. "Are you all right?"

"Sorry," I said, bending down to pick up the dish. A sharp pain went through me and I grabbed my back. "Slipped out of my hand."

Mom started to rub my back while I was picking up the dish, "Are you all right, honey?"

"I'm fine," I replied. I sat up and dumped the dish in the trashcan.

"What's this about Danny being pregnant," Dad asked. "Since when could guys have babies and who's the mommy… or daddy. What's going on?"

"He's not really pregnant," Mom declared, rolling her eyes. "Danny has a belly bump that looks like he's pregnant, that's all."

"More pregnancy likeness," Dad asked.

"More," Sam asked. I knew I must be pale because I felt my veins shut down seconds ago.

"The heartburn, the nausea, the cravings. Don't tell me no one else has noticed," Dad said. He walked over to me, "Lift it up. I wanna see this."

I sighed, hoping I could pull out of this like I did with the others. I pulled the shirt up to my nose, showing Dad.

"Holy cow," Dad declared. "I think we should give the boy a pregnancy test!" He started laughing.

I laughed weakly, "Let's say we did but don't!"

"Are those… man boobs," Tucker asked. I dropped the shirt in an instant. Too high! You just now noticed this!

"No," I declared. "Can we stop talking about my body, now?"

"I'm sorry, honey," Mom replied, pulling me close. "It's just that this is a mystery."

Sam pushed her chair back, "Well, I say it's time to go. We've got some research to do."

"Agreed," I said, stepping out from between my parents.

"Where are you guys going," Dad asked.

"Library," Mom said with a twinkling in her eye.

"Library," Jazz declared in shock. "What's the emergency?"

"We need to do some research about what happened," Tucker said, giving Jazz a firm look. She nodded her understanding.

"Well, you guys have fun," Jazz replied.

"We'll have lots of fun," I said sarcastically. We stood up and dismissed ourselves. I phased Sam and Tucker through the floor after slamming the door. I wanted to make things through.

O_O

There were tons of books on the Reality Gauntlet that we could choose from. It really wasn't that hard to find our answer. Some people are able to beat the Reality Gauntlet if their wills are strong enough. If anyone has an iron will, it's Mom.

"But there is a backup system," Tucker said, glancing over a page. "It says here that when a memory or life is altered and the person has a strong enough will, it will sometimes reappear in dreams. When they reach the end of the dream, the Gauntlet will erase their memory all over again."

"But it's destroyed now," I said, worried. "Will it still work?"

"You said you want to tell them on your own terms," Sam replied. "Why don't you tell them while we know they will accept you?"

"I will, I will," I said. "I'm just waiting for the right time."

"There will be no right time," Tucker replied. "Just take a breath and tell them!"

"I don't want to do it just yet," I replied. "Let's wait for the school year to end."

"Then it will be eleventh grade and twelfth grade and then college," Sam retorted. "Tell them!"

"You're for telling them now," I asked in shock.

"I was wrong, Danny," Sam said softly. "Your parents could accept you and they did! I saw the way you were. If it weren't for the Guys in White, you would have been at peace the last few days."

"I was more upset about the worldwide exposure and the show," I replied with my voice soft. "It was nice to have the respect from my town but that doesn't mean I'm nuts about shouting it from roof tops."

"We're not suggesting you tell everyone," Tucker said. "Just Moms and Dads."

"I don't know," I replied, putting my head on the library table. "I'm just worried. The next few months are going to be rough enough."

"Why," Sam asked. Should I tell them now that it's just us?

"Nothing," I replied, standing up. "You guys have fun. I've got to go talk to the record keeper."

"His name is Anastasius," Sam said with a scrawl. She didn't object though so I left.

O_O

When we passed through the portal, I heard voices in the lab. I pushed Sam and Tucker behind a cabinet so we could see what was going off.

"Five months," a voice declared. "Five months this has been going on and you haven't called me once!" Oh, no. "Did you think that I didn't need to know? What, is it not my job to know when ghosts are exposed?"

"Samuels," I said, stepping out. "It's not their faults. It's mine."

"Radar, I haven't even started with you," Samuels retorted.

"And you won't start with him," Mom turned on Samuels. "This is not Danny's fault no matter what he says. That boy has made more scarifies than you could ever imagine!"

"But someone should have called me," Samuels demanded.

"How did you even find out," Sam asked.

"That I don't know," Samuels replied. "I woke up in Amity Park wearing one of your belts."

"My belts," I asked, confused. Impossible. My waistline was too small to fit him and I haven't bought new ones.

Mom walked over to the counter. "He was wearing a Specter Deflector," Mom replied, picking it up. "We can't figure it out. He couldn't have gotten one unless he was here."

Sam, Tuck and I gasped, "Oh, my God!"

"He was wearing a Specter Deflector," Tucker declared.

"I didn't know," I replied.

"Well, does that mean that he does," Sam demanded.

"I'm not sure," I replied. "We've got to go," I replied, running up the steps. I pushed past the exhaustion, digging into my powers like I normally do when I'm winded.

"Could you read his mind," Tucker asked.

"I didn't try," I replied. "I implanted the urge for him to return to Washington and not remember any of this. I guess with the Specter Deflector on, Samuels could fight that urge."

"He said he woke up in Amity Park," Tucker replied. We reached the top of the stairs and headed for my room. "Maybe the Specter Deflector protected him from some of the gauntlet's power."

"It's a possibility but he could have just said that," Sam replied.

"I don't think so," I replied. "When we boarded the plane that day, I was keeping Samuels calm and complacent. I wanted him like a puppet until he returned to Washington. However, now that we know about wills and the such, Samuels also has a strong will. He could have averted from the true power of the gauntlet."

"What are we going to do," Tucker asked.

"I don't know," I replied. "Without the Gauntlet, I have no way of fixing this! My own abilities of mind control wipe me out."

"What mind control," Sam said, squinting her eyes at me.

"Nothing! Nothing," I said, hoping to calm her down. "I'm just saying that it's possible."

"You also said that it wipes you out like you used it before," Tucker said, crossing his arms. I wonder if I can blame hormones here?

"I'm not a mind controller," I replied. "It doesn't run in my family and all I have is basic like every ghost has. That's all I meant!"

"This is so not good," Tucker sighed. "Mom is having dreams, Samuels didn't complete the fantasy and the gauntlet is gone. What else could go wrong?"

"Don't you dare," I declared. "There are never a shortage of worst case scenarios."

"True," Tucker said, frowning. "How many days until school begins?"

"One week," I replied.

"Exactly," Sam asked.

"Yeah," I said, sitting down on my bed. Sam walked over to my computer and wiggled the mouse. She gasped. "What?"

"Today's the fourteenth," she declared.

"Yeah," I said, confused.

"No way," Tucker declared. Oh, I didn't tell them. "You're already fifteen!"

"Hooray for me," I said, pulling my legs on my bed. "We were in California on my birthday."

"That's also when the rollercoaster happened," Sam said softly. Tucker looked up sharply.

"Don't worry about it," I replied. "Oh," I said, jumping up. "I need to go talk to Samuels!"

"What for," Sam said.

"To tell him to transfer Freakshow," I replied. "I don't feel comfortable with the Guys in White having him."

"Me neither," Sam said.

"I second that," Tucker added. They followed me downstairs.

"Hey Samuels," I called, walking into the workstation. Samuels was going over Mom and Dad's books. "I need you to do me a favor."

"What," Samuels said with a tone of bitterness in his voice.

"Don't get that tone with me," I said, crossing my arms. "I did my job."

"What are you talking about," Samuels demanded. "The ghosts have been out for five months and I haven't even got a postcard!"

"The rules say nothing about alerting your supervisor about a ghost exposure. It in fact says that you cannot tell anyone about the identity of ghosts."

"But it's implied," Samuels demanded.

"No it's not," I retorted. "Rules are rules. None are to be interpreted your own way."

"But—," Samuels sighed. "What do you want, Radar?"

"There's a prisoner that the Guys in White have obtained and I want you to put him in a more secure facility… like a milk jug or something."

"Yeah, because the Guys in White have absolutely no security," Tucker said. Nice, Tuck. I think he got that.

"What are the Guys in White doing with a prisoner," Samuels demanded. "They're only supposed to monitor the ghostly activity."

"Huh," Mom retorted. "Those idiots have taken over down here. If I found out they were doing anything really illegal, I'd shut them down."

"I can show you a list of really illegal activities," Tucker said, crossing his arms. "How about crossing a human and a ghost to create a literal half-ghost child."

"What," Samuels, Mom and Dad declared. Sam elbowed him.

"I mean they had a male ghost impregnate a female human and a child was born from it," Tucker said, rubbing his rib.

"When did this happen," Mom demanded.

"Five years ago," I replied. "But I didn't find him until three or four months ago." We found him just before the King and Grandma and Grandpa took him to the ghost nursery. The poor kid was in terrible condition. I named him Adam but I haven't seen him since.

"Why didn't you tell us," Mom demanded. "Where is the baby now?"

"In the Ghost Zone," I replied. "He has more attributes to ghost than human so we found a place where the baby ghosts live. At least until he grows up."

"Danny," Mom declared. "He's just a child and you handed him to ghosts?"

"They were non-conquering ghosts," I said, crossing my arms. "I couldn't take him to an orphanage or child services. What was I supposed to do with him?"

"We could have given him to a ghost hunter that would want him," Mom declared. "Hell, if I couldn't find anyone, I would have raised him!"

"But you hate ghosts," I declared. "You tear twelve of them apart every night!"

"Sure, but they're always treated with respect… except for Invincible. I've put that monster through every excruciating pain imaginable."

"Could you really raise a ghost child that you had not created," I asked.

"Danny, I would raise a full ghost if they could grow up," Mom replied. "No child deserves to be alone. I'd love to capture Phantom and rehabilitate him or something."

"Phantom," Samuels replied, looking to the left. "Why does that name sound familiar?"

I looked to Sam and Tucker and they were looking at me fearfully. "He's a ghost boy that pretends to be a hero. Maddie gives him too much credit. I'd like to tear him apart molecule by molecule."

"He's just a kid," Mom replied. "I think he's being led in the wrong direction. Like he had a bad mentor or something. He wants that praise for some reason."

"Did it ever occur to you that he just wants to help," Sam demanded.

"Sam," I said.

Sam grunted, "It just makes me mad that no one can believe that he could be good!"

"What does he look like," Samuels asked.

"Black costume with a white D on his chest. White hair. He's seventeen or eighteen years old… or at least he was when he died."

I blinked my eyes as I heard Mom describe my ghost form. They thought I was a young adult. No wonder no one can identify him with me. They all think I'm older in ghost form!

"Anyone have a picture of him," Samuels asked. Please, please, please, don't let anyone have a picture!

"Open a paper up," Dad grumbled. "You'll find something about him in there every day."

"We have some footage of him," Mom replied. I snapped my head up.

"What," Sam and Tucker demanded.

"I've been studying him at night for the past two months," Mom replied. "Watching his fights and his behaviors. He's a real enigma."

"Well, let's see it," Samuels replied.

"That's why you haven't been in my room at night," I declared. "You've been studying me… I mean him!"

"I swear to you, honey, I can't find you when you go on patrol. All I see out that late is the ghost boy and a few ghosts. I don't know where you patrol."

"Patrol," Samuels replied.

"I have a permit," I said, holding up my hand. "You signed it without knowing what it was!"

Samuels laughed. "Oh, Radar. I trust you too much, I think."

Mom popped a disc into the monitor and I saw the horrible glare of night vision. I squinted my eyes as I tried to see what was on the screen. Slowly, my eyesight started to adjust and the night vision was no longer hard to view. It was weird seeing myself fighting on film. I couldn't tell what day that was because most days are all the same but I know that I had no clue Mom was there. Sam moved in close to me. "When was this," she asked.

"I have no idea," I replied. "That's Collins that I'm fighting. He's an eight."

"I know he catches on average thirty ghosts a night," Mom replied. "I can't catch all his battles because he can fly and I can't but he is dang good. The most a battle will wage unless he's having more trouble than usual is five minutes. He has them caught and on to the next battle like presto."

"Well, you're better," Dad replied. "He didn't even know you were there."

"He's ghost hunting," Mom said, shrugging. "Not human hunting!"

"Are you sure he's in his late teens," Samuels replied. "He's awful short to be that old."

"You think he's short," Mom replied.

"Well, think about the HAZMAT suits," Samuels replied. "They make the legs longer."

"You think he's wearing one of our HAZMAT suits," Dad asked, confused. "How? His is black?"

"You can dye clothes," Samuels replied. "You didn't stich that D in his chest either. What does the D stand for anyway? You said his name was Phantom."

"Oh," Mom said. "Danny Phantom. We don't say his first name because of confusion."

I sunk further. This is horrible. Rumor has it that Samuels can smell a ghost around. Will he be able to piece together the puzzle?

"Danny Phantom," Samuels replied. "Well, that sounds even more familiar. Why is that?"

"You probably heard it from the A-List," Sam said. "He's the biggest celebrity around."

"Maybe," he replied. "I did talk to a few people while I was investigating. That's how I figured out the ghosts were out. I was talking to one and didn't even know it!"

"They're easy to mistake," Tucker chuckled. "The only way to identify one is at night, with a radar or if they're showing powers."

"I thought you could smell a ghost," I said, raising an eyebrow.

"Oh, don't be ridiculous," Samuels said. "That was a rumor started when I was the Distributor. In my day, I was the Radar."

"Yeah," I said, smiling. At least I know it isn't true but that doesn't mean I'm out of hot water yet.

"So, who was this prisoner," Samuels asked. He pulled out pen and paper.

"Fredrick Showenhoser," I replied. "His stage name is Freakshow."

"The Ringmaster," Mom said, surprised.

"Yeah," I replied. "The Guys in White went to the prison and waved around Division G like they were the bosses."

"I'll take care of the prisoner and I'll take care of the Guys in White," Samuels replied.

"Just don't flash your badge," I said, crossing my arms over my chest. "I done that and they confiscated it, claiming it to be a forgery."

"What," Samuels demanded.

"I reported it," I replied. "I went there after the bounty to give them citations for what they did and they took my badge. It's useless now because I got a new number."

"What did they do," Mom asked.

"And how did you know about it?"

"It wasn't just you they attacked," I said, my jaw clenched. "They endangered seven ghost hunters when they came off that hill!"

"How do you know about that," Dad demanded. I looked at him funny. "Phantom and I were the only ones there!"

My eyes widened. Stupid.

"No you wasn't," Sam said. "Tuck and I were the ghost hunters they endangered first. We told Danny."

Thanks for saving my hide but you did not! I had to find that out on my own—weeks later! "Yeah," I replied. "Sam and Tucker were keeping the morons busy."

"What morons was this," Samuels asked.

"Ghost Breakers and Groovy Gang," I replied.

"Oh," Samuels replied.

"Yeah," I laughed. "Plasmius put a bounty on Phantom and it brought out all the crazies."

"Who," Mom asked.

"Plasmius," Dad said. Fenton, you are an idiot! "He's the ghost that I had to fight to protect the portal. He wanted our portal. How did you?"

"Hello," I said. "Remember that day that he attacked. I do know a lot of ghosts around here. I knew who he was when you beat him."

"You could have told me," Dad said, becoming more like the man I know. Sometimes it's easy to forget that Dad is almost just as smart as Mom when he acts like a big kid all the time.

"I was hiding it at that point," I replied. "That was before Mom declared war."

"On who," Samuels asked.

"I didn't know at the time," Mom replied. "Danny came back from a visit with a college pal completely depressed and suicidal and then he started developing big mood changes. I found out he was ghost hunting and it was causing him to be under a lot of pressure. I still don't know why he cracked before the ghosts were exposed but he could have been freaking out at Vlad's all week."

"You were suicidal," Samuels demanded in anger and shock.

"For a while," I replied. "I'm not now. You could say I'm very pro-life."

"Stop with the pregnancy puns," Sam demanded. "I'm about to believe you may be the first male to have a baby!"

"Sorry," I chuckled. "You guys are the ones who brought it up. Well, I think we're going out. We'll see you later."

"It's only one in the afternoon," Mom said surprised.

"Yeah," I replied. "We're not starting patrol yet."

"I want to tag along," Samuels replied. "Maybe I can see this Phantom."

"Uh," I hummed. "Maybe. I don't know. I rarely see him."

"He doesn't come out in the day that often," Mom replied. "He's more of a nighttime ghost."

"He deals with the nighttime ghosts," I corrected. "Meet us at the Nasty Burger."

"Okay," Mom replied. "Be careful."

"Now where are we going," Sam asked as we walked away.

"Headquarters," I replied. "We have some updating to do."

"You can handle that alone, right," Sam asked.

"Yeah," I said, stopping. "Why?"

"I was thinking about going back to the castle," Sam replied. "Do you mind?"

"Can I escort you," I replied.

"Sure," Sam said, bending her elbow. I linked up with her and we went into the Ghost Zone. Tucker stayed in the lab.

O_O

Sam didn't want to share with me what she was wanting to do but I gave direct orders for her to have an escort at all times and she is not to leave the castle without me present. I returned to the house and Tuck and I went to HQ. Tucker trained a little while I updated my files. We finished up right before patrol so I went to get Sam while Tucker went to the Nasty Burger. When Sam and I arrived, Mom, Dad, Samuels and Jazz were there.

"What are you doing here," Sam demanded of Jazz.

"I won't be getting involved," Jazz said, holding up her hands. "I've still got a lot of training to do before I reach your level."

"You're interested in ghost hunting now," Samuels asked.

"I found out that ghosts exist," Jazz shrugged. "I wasn't wrong but I wasn't completely informed either."

"You were wrong," I declared. "Heck, I was wrong. I think everyone was wrong. They're not at all what we thought they were."

"What are they," Samuels asked.

"They're the spirits of the deceased," I replied. "The Ghost Zone is the final stage of life."

"You mean that the ghosts aren't unfinished business ghosts," Mom replied.

"No," I answered. "The Dairy King was an unfinished business ghost. You wouldn't have been able to see him if you had come across him. Only kids can see him, kind of like Youngblood but Youngblood chooses that."

"Youngblood," Mom asked.

"A miscarriage ghost," I replied. "He's fifteen years old but he looks like he's three. Ghosts can develop after death but it takes them twenty years to grow a year and they stop at adulthood."

"I wish I had told you sooner," Mom said in a weak voice. "He didn't tell us this much when we found out."

"I'm his boss," Samuels scoffed. "He's supposed to tell me more."

"No," I laughed. "I'm just finally comfortable talking… about almost anything. There's still two things I wouldn't tell unless my life depended on it."

"So, what are we doing here," Samuels asked.

"Waiting for it to begin," I replied, sitting down. I had already eaten.

"What to begin," Samuels asked, confused.

"Just wait," Mom replied. "You'll be surprised just like we were."

"These kids have this down to a science," Dad replied.

O_O

I looked to my watch a minute to six and stood up. Sam, Tucker and Jazz followed me while Mom and Dad scrambled to keep up. Samuels darted out of the booth confused. "What's going on," Samuels asked.

"Three, two, one," Sam and Tucker said.

A scream pierced the air. Panic ensued all over the streets as the citizens ran and screamed ghost. "That," I replied. I pulled out my pencil box, bringing out an ectoblaster. It was time for work.

O_O

Sam and Tucker were laughing uncontrollably at Samuels' reaction. He had never imagined so many ghosts could come out during a short four hours. I left the fact that if he thought this was bad, he should stick around after midnight. We returned home fifteen minutes til ten. I grabbed an apple pie from the pastry dish and headed for the door.

"Where are you going," Samuels asked me right before I reached the door.

"I have another three to four hours of patrol left," I added. "I'll be home anywhere between one the earliest and seven the absolute latest."

"And you just let him," Samuels said, turning to my mom in shock.

"I've tried to get him to stop," Mom replied. "What else can I do shy of locking him in chains?"

"I've got to go," I said. "If I don't see you tonight, I'll see you in the morning!"

"Be careful, Danny," Mom replied.

"I will," I said, shutting the door behind me. I ran to my alley and transformed, hitting the skies. I have to keep my eyes open to see if Mom is observing me. Think of all the times I've powered down from weakness. I could have a catastrophe.

O_O

I was trying to sleep later that night when my door opened again. I peeked my eye open to see Mom slowly making her way into my room. She quietly made it to my bed and pulled my computer chair over to sit beside of me. She sat down but instead of stroking my hair or rubbing my hand, she put her head on my bed. I watched as she drifted off to sleep, her hand inches from mine. Her subconscious knew my secret. She herself did not know I was Danny Phantom but her subconscious knew. She relived that day in her dream and when I was hit with that rollercoaster, she knew it was her son. I have to do something.

When my alarm started to go off, I reached for it with my eyes still closed. A gasp followed after the incessant beeping stopped. I opened my eyes to see Mom still lying there. "Oh, I'm sorry, Mom," I said, careful not to hit her again. "Did that help?"

"You knew I was here," Mom asked me.

"I'm a light sleeper," I said softly. "Are you all right?"

"I didn't dream it again," Mom said softly. I don't think I was meant to hear that. "Yeah, I'm fine. I'm sorry. I won't bother you again."

"You didn't bother me," I replied. "I fell right back to sleep."

"I keep having this reoccurring dream," Mom replied. "Every time I fall asleep, I have this same dream. I thought I'd try something differently. I think it worked."

"Dreams are strange," I chuckled. I had a dream myself. It was a regular dream, not a pathetic one thank goodness. I dreamed my daughter was born in ghost form.

"Did you have a dream," Mom asked. "I did notice you moving a bit in your sleep."

"It was nothing," I replied. "Just strange, vivid dreams."

"Are you getting up," Mom asked.

"Yeah," I replied. "Sam and Tucker are wanting to go out today."

"What else is new," Mom said in a sigh. "I'll make your breakfast while you're dressing."

"Thanks," I said, sitting up. Mom started laughing. "What?"

"Your pajamas," Mom said. "They're pulling apart."

I looked to my waist and my skin was showing between the buttons. "Great," I groaned. "How much more of this can I take?"

"You haven't had any weird symptoms, have you," Mom replied. "Heaviness in the stomach, indigestion, a full feeling all the time?"

"No," I said, looking at her weird. "Why?"

"We've been assuming this has to do with overeating or gaining excessive weight in a short period of time, but that could be a tumor. Do you want me to run some tests?"

"It's not a tumor," I replied. "I'll tell you what. If it doesn't go down in two months, then you can do an examination."

"Two months is a long time, Danny," Mom said.

"It's not a tumor," I smiled at her. "See you in a bit."

O_O

We went to the castle but instead of working on the nobles, Sam dragged us to the library. There was a whole slew of books on the table when we walked in. When I picked her up last night, Sam had met me in the entrance. "What are you researching now," I asked her.

"Oh, just stuff," Sam said. "You can go do whatever you want now."

"What," I asked, taken aback.

"What about me," Tucker said.

"No," Sam objected. "You're staying here."

"Sam," I said, confused.

"It's nothing," Sam replied. "I just want to look up some things. You don't need to waste your time here."

"What about me," Tucker demanded. "I don't want to waste my time in this place either."

"Can it," Sam hissed to Tucker. "Don't you have a doctor's appointment or something?"

"No," I said. "Why are you trying to get rid of me?"

"Oh, fine," Sam groaned. "I'm planning on throwing you a birthday party and I wanted to plan it with Tucker."

"Here," Tucker groaned. "We could do this when Danny's on his night patrols—ow!"

Sam jabbed him in the side. Okay, what's going on? "Sam, the truth. Now."

"Why," Sam jabbed. "You never tell us the truth."

"I'm trying," I sighed. "I come clean about almost everything," I replied.

"When you tell us what happened at the King and in the future, then I will tell you what I'm doing," Sam said. So, that's how you want to play. What are you thinking? A jolt of electricity shot through my body and I yelped. "Oh, and it's a bad idea to read my mind."

Okay, I won't be doing that again. "Come on, Sam. What's going on?"

"I need to talk to Tucker about something and I don't want you to hear what it is," Sam said.

"So you had to do this here," Tucker said. Sam turned an evil eye on him. "Okay! Okay! I'll shut up now!"

"Just, please, don't be thinking about speeding up the process of turning half ghost," I begged. "I don't know what that will do."

"It's not about that," Sam said softly. "Now, shoo."

"Fine," I grumbled. "I don't like this but I'll go."

I walked out of the room and down the hall a little bit. I heard the door to the library close. "Castle, please make this room silent proof," Sam asked. Nothing came from the room after that.

I groaned. "Direct me to the Church," I said. The line appeared.

**AN: I'd like to know what you think. Saturday begins Danny's Story, Part 3: Deliverance. Can't you feel the excitement?**


	17. Chapter 17

**Disclaimer:**

**Warning: This story contains reference to rape, sexual content, male sex and pedophilia. If any of this disturbs you, please do not read.**

**Chapter 17: Building an Army**

"Sister Victoria," I said as I walked into her room. She was the highest elder of the nuns. "Can we discuss the arrangements?"

"Of course, sire," Sister Victoria replied. "You wish for your daughter to stay here when you are unable to care for her, correct?"

"Yes," I replied. "I would like to have someone be with her at all times so she could be comfortable with that person."

"If you so wish, my lord," she replied. "Lillian will be accompanied at all times."

"I want this person to be powerful," I replied. "And I want guards on her at all times."

"Are you afraid, my lord," Sister Victoria replied.

"I just have a bad feeling," I replied. "Things have been going downhill since the beginning with Vlad and my dreams have yet to change. They still say that Sam and I get together. I know Vlad says he wants us to be together but I don't know what he'll do if I don't want that."

"Princess Lillian will have the best protection, sire," she replied.

"That's what I want," I replied. "Select six nurses that have experience with children and are at least an eight. If they're not fighters, make sure they are willing to become fighters. I won't have my daughter become a pawn in his game of chess."

"Of course, sire," she said, bowing.

"Direct me to the record keeper's office," I said. A line appeared.

"Record Keeper," I said, walking into his office. "Vlad has been outlawed from stepping foot on this property, correct."

"Yes, sire," he replied.

"That means protection like Pariah had against intruders, right. Spikes, booby traps," I asked.

"Of course, sire," he replied. "The castle is always under those protections. Anyone who is uninvited that steps on these floors activates them immediately."

"And the soup kitchen I had built is sealed off from the rest of the castle with anti-phasing protection?"

"Yes, sire," he said again. "May I ask what has gotten you so upset?"

"I'm expecting a war," I replied. "I want to make sure my Kingdom is prepared for that war. Summon all the soldiers that served under Pippin and Pariah," I ordered. "Have them meet me in my chambers."

"Right away, sire."

"Direct me to chambers," I replied. I think I know the way but I want to make sure.

O_O

"I don't care about your intentions," I began. "I could care less about your loyalties. The only thing that matters to me is fight experience. I'm building an army. If I'm lucky, this army will never be deployed. However, if I do need to retaliate, this could be lethal. I want only those who are willing to die again for this. If that isn't your intention, then go. There will be no consequences but I don't want you slowing us down. The rest of you, training begins now."

No one so much as flinched.

I was starting from scratch. I would build this army from the floor up and they would rival Sam and Tucker in their skills. I know that they could never be as good as Sam and Tucker are because they have developed those skills over seven plus years but these guys will have the skills that no one outside of the Ghost Hunters Camp have. Because I will be spending countless time with them, they will be better than my campers.

That day I worked on teaching them how to hit a human. Most ghosts do not know how to hit a human and vice versa. Sam, Tucker and I remain the only life forms existing that know how to accomplish such a feat. Today, eighty more learned it.

When I met Sam and Tucker at the entrance, I noticed Tucker stared at me a little bit longer. "What," I asked.

"No-nothing," Tucker said, his green eyes wide. I noticed a specter deflector around his waist and it was turned on.

"What's going on," I asked, looking to Sam.

"Tucker now knows," Sam said. "Let's go."

Sam lifted into the air and took off for the portal. Tucker shook his head, finally releasing his stare. He too lifted into the air, following Sam. I paused for a minute as I wondered what was going on. Shaking my head as well, I lifted into the air and followed them out.

O_O

Today at patrol, it was just us three again. Things were returning to normal but there was also a wind of change in the air. Tucker couldn't quite shake that feeling, whatever it was, all day and coming home to Samuels told me that Tucker and Sam weren't the only ones acting strange. That night, I was visited by Mom again. As Mom slowly made her way in my room, I didn't carry the appearance of sleep. I sat up. "We need to talk."

"I'm sorry," Mom said, her head dropping. "I shouldn't have come."

"Wait," I said, throwing the covers off my legs. I went to meet her. "You need to not let this dream scare you."

"I don't know how to stop it," Mom said weakly. "Every time I sleep, I see it. I don't even understand why I'm having it. Phantom is the one that dies, as crazy as that sounds, yet I feel like I've lost everything the minute it happens!"

"You're becoming a slave to that dream," I said softly. "I know how it feels. To be powerless against something. Whether it's fate, emotions, life or whatever. You have to be in control. Coming into my room only solves the problem for a little while. To be in control again, you need to not run from it. Sometimes, that thing can be so daunting, so impossibly strong that you feel you have no choice but to fall to it but it doesn't have to be that way. If you keep running. If you keep hiding, all that happens is it wins."

"What do I do," Mom asked me.

"Go back to sleep," I replied. "You may spend countless nights crying. You may emotionally spend yourself. However, what you will gain in the long run is strength. What can't kill you only makes you stronger."

"What have you faced," Mom said softly, taking my hand in hers.

"What haven't I faced," I said, looking down. I brought my eyes back up to look at her. "I'm still learning. There are still days that I feel something threaten to consume me. You can't back down. You will learn a lot about yourself when you face this. It won't happen overnight and in your case, that's literally. Those kinds of things live to feed off your misery. They won't take kindly to your resistance. Don't give in to them. Give them hell."

"Thanks," Mom replied.

"Don't give up," I said again. "No matter how painful it gets. If you wake up crying, go back to sleep. It's all a part of the process."

O_O

Morning came and I was making breakfast when Sam and Tucker came over. Tucker seemed a lot more at ease this morning than he was last night. I added two more breakfasts and added meat to Tucker's. After we ate, we went back to the castle but I unknowingly to Sam and Tucker brought along training equipment. While Sam and Tucker worked on their mystery project, I set up the room I chose for the training facility. Today, I taught another fifty ghosts how to hit a human. I managed to make the area ready to start training. I knew I couldn't do this myself for much longer so I had to make some selections. All in due time.

For now, though, I was having difficulty focusing. Before what happened last week, I wanted to see Brit, Mom Number Three and Dad Number Three. I still want to see them but… well, Freakshow ruined that. I quit before noon, walking back to the library. I knocked on the door. A few moments later, Sam and Tucker came to the door.

"I'm going out," I said. "If you guys want to stay here, please don't attempt to go back on your own. If you want to go to HQ, I'll let you use the elevator. I just want to go for a flight for a few hours."

"How long are you planning on staying out," Sam asked.

"I'll try to be back in time for patrol," I replied. "If I'm not, I'll be in shortly thereafter."

"We'll stay here," Sam answered when she looked at Tucker. Sam dug in her pocket, removing the team phone. "Take this just to be safe."

"I'll call you if we get a job and I'll be there to pick you up," I answered. I hadn't changed my mind. They were not to leave this castle without me. "Stay here unless I am personally escorting you. Am I clear?"

"Yeah, yeah, yeah," Sam grumbled. "We'll have to wait five years for you to be satisfied."

"Two," I corrected her. "In two years, you can use all the powers you will develop at the end of your transformation. In three years, the side effects are minimal. By the fourth year, you can use them without any side effects except a limitation of the power. As Tucker said when his ectoplasm dried up: give me the bloody nose because I'm going to get one anyway!"

"Okay," Sam and Tucker said slowly. I knew they didn't understand. How could they?

"Be careful," Sam replied.

"I will," I replied. I lifted into the air and headed for the portal.

O_O

I flew down to Texas and tried to remember how we went when we took them down here five years ago. When I finally made it to their town, I had to remember where they moved to. Finally, the home that I had only seen once appeared. I may not have visited here a lot, but I remember it vividly. I used to hate this town for stealing my sister.

I touched down on the sidewalk and looked around. After seeing no one, I powered down and walked up the stairs. No one in this house knew I was coming and only Brit knew about the plans to bring them along. I rang the doorbell and hoped against hope that Brit or Dad would answer the door. I did not want to see Nancy first.

The door opened and he appeared before me with those wide shoulders and medium height. His brown hair was a little grayer than last I saw him and he had a few more wrinkles but I knew who he was. There was no mistaking.

"Can I help you," Dad Number Three asked.

"You don't recognize me," I said, my voice level. "That's all right. It's been years. It's me, Danny."

Dad's eyes widened and he stared at me in shock. Finally, he ripped the screen door open and enveloped me in a hug, "My God, son, you've grown."

"I missed you, Mr. Calloway," I said, hesitating as I said his name. He's been Dad Number Three for as long as I remember but I haven't seen him in five years and I haven't spoken to him in three.

"What happened to Dad," Dad said and I choked up.

"Dad," I said, shedding a few tears. "I'm sorry to drop in unannounced," I said after he released me and I wiped my tears away.

"I don't care," Dad said. "I've been worried about you."

"Worried about me," I said, looking at him funny. "Why?"

"Brit," Dad replied, his voice soft. "She wouldn't tell me what happened but I watched her have nightmares for weeks. She'd wake up screaming your name. I thought about sending her up for a visit, but we couldn't afford it."

"About that," I said, reaching in my backpack. I removed a manila envelope. "Do not reject this. I know your bank numbers. I will automatically deposit it."

"Danny," Dad said sadly.

"We're family," I said. "We help each other out in times of need. You guys need this now more than ever."

"But there's no way we could ever repay this," Dad said.

"You repay me by being happy and healthy," I replied. "Mom's already sick. Don't worry yourself over finances."

Dad nodded but in a sad way. I knew it was hard for him to accept but it was for the good of the family. "So, are you going to tell me what went on last year," he asked as he put the envelope down.

"It's complicated," I replied. "I had some stuff going off in Amity that had me really stressed. I needed to talk to someone but I didn't want to burden anyone. Brit offered to help and because she was thousands of miles away, she seemed the perfect candidate. I may have pushed her too far."

"You didn't open up to Maddie and Jack," Dad said, crossing his arms.

"No," I answered. "But I'm doing better. I'm seeing a therapist and she's helping me understand that I don't have to keep it all to myself. Old habits break hard but I'm working on it."

"Is the therapist discussing recovery options with Maddie and Jack," Dad asked.

"No," I replied. "It's the therapist at the free clinic."

"You went to the free clinic," Dad asked in shock. "Does Maddie know this?"

"Yeah," I sighed. "I saved the clinic by going to Samuels. It's now under Division G jurisdiction."

"Does it still provide for the kids like it always did," he asked.

"Yeah," I answered. "I own it and I allowed them to continue their work. I chose it after all so I could talk to someone without including my parents."

"Are the three of you having trouble," Dad asked.

"No," I answered. "I was just going through some stuff that I didn't know how to tell them."

"But you still haven't told them," Dad asked for clarity.

"That's correct," I sighed. "Now I'm in so deep, I'm not sure how to climb out."

"Well, with my experience, there is no easy way. Every day you wait, you get deeper."

"I know," I sighed. "But it still doesn't change the fact I don't know how to tell them."

"You want to tell me," Dad asked. "Doctor patient confidentiality."

"Oh, man," I groaned. "If you knew everything, I would love nothing more but you don't."

"What don't I know," Dad asked.

"Amity Park is not the same place you remember," I chuckled. "It's changed—big time."

"Do I need to know this information to help you," he added.

"To help me, no," I said. "You need this information to understand and you need to understand to help me."

"Are you getting help from the clinic," he asked me.

"Yeah," I replied. "Professional help. What I need is a family's opinion."

"What do Sam and Tucker think," Dad asked.

I sighed, "They don't know."

"What," Dad declared in shock.

"The only one who knows is Brit and she don't know everything. I couldn't tell her that. Even she wouldn't know what to do."

"So," Dad said. "How did you get down here?"

"Plane," I replied. "Brit and I planned a surprise but something, like always, came up. We were planning on taking a cross-country family vacation. Mom was even going to take the ops center so she would have all the necessary equipment for Mom."

"So you're here alone," Dad said.

"Yeah," I said sadly. "I can't stay all day, either. I only have until the evening or when it comes down to Nancy or I."

Dad chuckled, "Don't kill the old bag."

"Where's Brit," I asked.

"She's in her room," Dad replied. "You wait here."

"Okay," I smiled. Dad ran up the steps. A few minutes later, Brit appeared as she approached the middle of the stairs. The little brunette in pig tails was nowhere to be seen. This young woman was stunning with long legs and a gorgeous face. Mikey wouldn't know what to say. She even dressed differently; a bit more stylish.

"Danny," Brit cried in surprise and disbelief.

"Hey there, Baby Doll," I said. She squealed, darting down the stairs and tackling me. Okay, she may not look like the Brit of my memories but she is exactly the same girl.

"Danny, I can't believe this," she cried. "Is Tucker or Manson here?"

"No," I said, pulling her back. "I came down here on my own. I couldn't allow this summer to slip by without me seeing you."

"What about your job," Brit asked me.

"I have my phone," I replied. "If anything big happens, you know Paulina will be calling me."

"You have a job now," Dad asked me.

"Oh, boy do I have a job," I chuckled. "I barely have time to breathe. Sometimes I don't." Brit and I started laughing, Dad clearly out of the loop. I looked to Brit once I ceased my laughter, "Care to go out for a little while?"

"Not at all," Brit said, taking my hand in hers. She snapped her head down quickly. "Wow, that is high."

"Luckily, my parents wear HAZMAT suits all the time," I said as we exited the house. We started to walk around the block. "There was something I've been meaning to tell you."

"You broke up with Vlad," Brit said, her voice hard.

"Yes and no," I replied. "We're separated and I haven't decided if I forgive him yet. He infected Sam and Tucker. It was ecto-acne."

"Oh, Danny," Brit said, her eyes going soft. "Do they know?"

"Yeah," I replied. "I told them about my dream and they knew what was happening from the beginning." I sighed heavily, "But what I need to tell you is going to be hard for you to understand. With the way things are for humans, this is going to be hard for you to comprehend."

"What," Brit said, stopping her stroll. She turned to me.

"For some reason, ghosts have both sex organs. It doesn't matter what sex you are or what kind of relationship you lead, any ghost can get pregnant." I took a deep breath, gently lifting my shirt up to my chest. Brit's eyes widened then rolled back in her head. I barely caught her, phasing my hand in her shoulder. "Brit, are you okay?"

"You're pregnant," Brit declared. "Oh, my God. How far along are you?"

"Seven months," I answered. "I'm due in late August early September."

"Holy cow," Brit said. "Just when I thought your life couldn't get any more weird. What are you having?"

"A girl," I replied. "I'm naming her Lillian Madeline Fenton."

Brit smiled softly, "That's beautiful. Have you told Sam or Tucker? Please tell me you have."

"I can't," I declared. "If I do make up with Vlad, they'd never understand."

"That's because you're the only crazy one around," Brit declared. "He don't deserve you. After everything he did to you, you still insist that he can change. What has happened since the two of you went official?"

"We had three weeks of a healthy relationship," I said. Even coming out, it sounded pathetic.

"Three weeks out of three months of dating," Brit retorted. "Can't you get the picture? Less than thirty percent of your relationship has been good!"

"What about the fact Vlad's my daughter's father," I declared. "She still needs a father."

"You will be her father," Brit said. "Sam will be her mother. She will still have the suitable foundation that all children need. She will not get that if you stay with that bastard!"

"I wouldn't have her if it weren't for that bastard," I returned angrily. "I can't hate him! He gave me my daughter! I don't know what I would do without her."

"Danny, you were raped," Brit declared. I went to object but she cut me off. "You can say what you want but you were raped. You never asked to have that done to you. You certainly didn't deserve it. Do you remember what it was like? All the screams, tears and blood. Because I sure remember it. I remember losing my friend after that week. I had never seen anyone with such a low will to survive. You were passing through. You weren't living."

"It wasn't personal," I started to defend Vlad.

"The hell it wasn't," Brit declared. "He tailored that torture just for you! He found a way to break you and he did it. Now, I'm watching my brother surrender to him. I don't like it."

"I can't expect you to understand," I said softly, "and I'm not looking for your approval. I just want to know you'll be there for me."

"I'm your sister, Danny," Brit said. "I'll always be there for you."

"Good," I said softly. "Because the labor could kill me."

"What," Brit cried.

"We've got a plan to take her by cesarean but I wanted to have a backup plan just in case," I replied. I pulled an index card from my back pocket. "This is the coordinates of the island," I replied. If I come up missing or I die, please, save my daughter. I don't know what Vlad has planned but I've just got the most awful feeling. I want to take precautions."

"How could the labor kill you," she cried. "Shouldn't a natural process be harmless?"

"It should be," I said, lowering my head. "But I'm different. I don't want to go into detail because you're my sister and it's embarrassing but guys have vaginas and that's how we deliver out children." I lowered my voice, "Before Vlad changed, he abused it. It's never healed."

"I should have known," Brit said sharply. "I swear I should call someone."

"Brit," I said softly, looking up at her. "You know that violates the sister code."

"Yeah," Brit retorted, "well, no code is worth your life to me."

"And it isn't to me either," I said softly. "The chances of this happening are slim. It's just a backup in a worst case scenario."

"I want you to call me every night and I don't care what time it is," Brit said. "Every second could count if this would happen."

"Okay," I said softly. There was a time that I did that anyway but with all the ghost attacks and my depression at the beginning of the year, our daily chats have turned more into once every week or two. She was right, though. If I did disappear and no one knew where I was, every second would count.

O_O

We walked around and I took her for a flight so she could experience it for herself. I didn't open her mind like I did with Sam and Tucker because of what Sam found out about humans with ghost powers but I did hold onto her and take her to a new height. When we returned to Nancy's, Dad loaded us into his car and took us to see Mom. I was nervous but I was ready. I knew there was a chance that she wouldn't know me but unlike Dad, hers wouldn't be solved by telling her who I was.

Brit took my hand as we walked into the hospital room. "Sometimes, she doesn't remember me," Brit said softly. "It's nothing personal."

"I know," I smiled weakly at Brit. We entered into the room and Dad went to the bed. My heart nearly stopped at the sight of her. She was weak, there was no denying it; but she was the same woman Mom has always been. Her hair was the same cream colored auburn as Brit but she wasn't quite as tall. Mom's hair cupped her face now instead of the long locks she used to wear, though. I guess the Texas heat caused her to get a haircut… or maybe the chemo did it to her. Dad woke Mom up but as feared, the chemicals and the disease had messed up her perception of time.

"Who is he," Mom asked Dad.

"Do you remember living in Amity Park," Dad asked.

"Remember," Mom declared. "Wayne, that's where we are now!"

"No," Dad said. "We're back in Hempstead," Dad explained. "We moved down here after you got sick."

"I would never go back to Hempstead," Mom declared in absurdity. "Where's my baby?"

"I'm right here, Mom," Brit said. I hugged her tightly as her voice broke.

"What," Mom said, taken aback. "Brittany is three years old. Wayne?"

"No, Marcie," Dad said. "You've gone back in time again. Brit is fifteen."

"Is he her boyfriend," Mom asked. I smiled sadly.

"No," Dad said softly. "Do you know that place across the street with all the weird inventions."

"Those crackpots," Mom said. I chuckled.

"They weren't crackpots," Dad chuckled himself. "Although we thought so before we got to know them," Dad added looking at me. "Their names are Jack and Maddie Fenton. This is their son. When Brit started kindergarten, she befriended him and we got close to the Fenton's."

"They weren't druggies," Mom said surprised. "With all the crazy things on their house, I thought they were crazy."

"They were actually geniuses," Dad smiled. "They are just scientists in a bizarre field."

"Bizarre," Mom said.

"It's nothing," Dad said. "I'm just saying they're not scientists of the conventional type."

"So he's not Brit's boyfriend," Mom asked.

"No," Dad replied. "He's our son of some sort. We looked after him as if he were our own and they done the same with Brit."

"That's weird," Mom said. "I never imagined myself as a second mother."

"To Danny, we're his third set of parents. Another family, the Foley's, knew the Fenton's longer than we did."

"Oh," Mom said. "I'm sorry I can't remember you, honey. I don't know what's wrong with me."

"Nothing," I said softly. "Sometimes, things happen that we can't control but that doesn't mean it's your fault."

"So, how old are you," Mom asked.

"I'm fifteen," I replied.

"Are you older or younger than my Brittany," Mom asked again.

"Younger," I replied. "She was born in March and I was born in June."

"How long ago was your birthday," Mom asked.

"Four days ago," I answered.

"I sent you an e-card," Brit said.

"What's an e-card," Mom asked.

Dad laughed, rubbing her hair, "We could sit here all day and couldn't explain that."

"She's no Tucker," Brit chuckled.

Brit and I sat down and started to pick at each other. We stayed for about forty-five minutes but Mom was starting to tire. Before we left, I asked, "Can we take a photo?"

"I think that would be a great idea," Dad said.

"Are you sure," Mom said, touching her hair. "I probably look like a mess."

"You look as beautiful today as you did the day I married you," Dad said.

"Twelve years have elapsed that I don't remember," Mom said drily. "Don't pull that on me!"

I removed my backpack, bringing out a compact mirror. I turned on the facet and submerged it under water. The mirror grew to full size.

"Whoa," Mom cried.

"His parents invented that," Dad said. "I told you they were geniuses."

"Have a look for yourself," I said, handing her the mirror. I held onto it so she wouldn't have to struggle to keep a hold of it.

"Well," Mom replied. "I'm not as bad as I thought."

"Convinced," I asked.

"Yeah," she smiled. "Take the photo."

I placed the dehydrator on the floor and expanded it to the size needed to shrink the mirror again. I placed it in the cavity and activated the dehydrator. The mirror returned to its compact size. I pulled out a tiny tripod and started to expand it to set up the camera. Mom gasped and chuckled, "How many inventions do they have?"

"More than I can count," I replied.

"Is this kind of technology available," Mom asked.

"No," Dad answered. "This is all Jack and Maddie."

"Wow," Mom said. I pulled out a camera and Mom gasped again.

"That kind of technology is available," Dad answered. "It's a digital camera."

"Digital," Mom asked.

I took a snapshot of Brit and walked over to Mom. I showed her the results. She gasped. "See, if you mess up and you want to take it again, you can delete it," I replied, deleting the photo. I took another picture, showing her another angle of Brit.

"That's amazing," Mom cried. "You don't have to waste film or have the same image over because you messed up… but, how do you get it off?"

"You can take it to a store or you can print it off at home on your computer," I replied. "I'll be giving you guys a flash drive."

"I'll print them off for you so you can see them," Dad replied. "That way, if you remember Danny again, you can know he came and saw you."

I took several pictures and transferred some of the rest of the family. I had some images of the town (ghost free) and some images of the people they used to know. I was sure to take plenty of pictures of Mikey so Brit could have them.

"See," I said, pulling up the picture of Mikey. "That's going to be your son-in-law."

Brit sighed, "My Mikey. How is he?"

"A pain," I replied. "He's allowing the fact he's an A-List Geek get to his head. He told Sam, Tuck and I that we couldn't talk to him because we weren't cool enough."

Brit laughed, "Well, I'll straighten him out."

"I hope so because he's incredibly bent."

We started laughing. Finally, I looked to Mom. "You get well. I want to see you up and about again."

"I'll try," she replied. "Come give me a hug."

I hugged her but it wasn't the same. The hug my mom would have given me would have been enormous. Instead, it was a budding friendship hug. I knew it was okay, though. Despite what Mom would do to me if she found out, I would heal her before she died. I'm too selfish to lose her and I shouldn't be willing to lose her so long as I can heal people.

As six o'clock loomed, I knew it was time to say goodbye. Soon, my town would be swarmed by ghosts. I was hugging them goodbye when I heard a door open and shut. The footsteps finally ceased as I heard Dad say, "Tell Jack and Maddie I said hi."

"I will," I said, my voice hard. I turned in the direction of the intruder.

"You," Nancy declared.

"Hello, Nancy," I said, my voice sharp. I really tried to keep my temper in check but this woman has banned the entire 618 area code and prevented our families from talking.

"What are you doing here," Nancy said sharply. "How dare you allow him in my house?"

"He's always welcomed," Dad objected. "He's practically our son."

"He's nothing but trouble. All those people are. I want him out of my house," she said, pointing to the door.

"Don't blow a fuse," I said. "I'm leaving."

"And don't you dare come back," she added. "It's been years! Why would you even come back?"

"Because they're my family and you don't give up on family," I said. I hugged Brit tightly, "I'll see you later, Baby Doll."

"Sorry about her," Brit said.

"Don't claim responsibility to her actions," I said. "Besides, I can handle a bag of hot air."

"Out before I call the police," Nancy said.

"Nancy," Dad declared. "He said he was leaving."

"Bye, Dad," I replied. I stuck my hand in my pocket, forming ectoplasm without anyone noticing. I formed both my eight hundred number and Mom's on the card-like object. "Here," I replied. "Call us anytime."

"Like that'll happen," Nancy said. "If you're not out in two seconds, I'm calling the police."

Oh, I should stay to show you who's really the bigger person but that also includes being courteous when you're being treated rudely. "I'm leaving," I replied. "Bye guys."

"Bye, Danny," Brit said.

"Be careful heading home," Dad replied.

I walked out of the door, Nancy watching me at the door. I walked down the block and out of sight. Finally, I transformed and went to the hospital invisibly. I locked the doors, turned off the camera and turned her flesh invisible. I located the biggest masses of cancer cells and swiped my hand through them. I didn't cure her but I removed large masses of tumors so that she could fight back a little easier. She'll live longer now.

"I promise," I said softly. "I'll save you before you become a ghost yourself."

O_O

I yelled at Sam and Tucker for three minutes when I made it back to town and they were on patrol. They had checked the radar and saw that I was in Texas and they pieced it together. Tucker was furious that I didn't take him but when I told him what happened, he was glad he wasn't there. I couldn't punish the ghosts at the castle for letting them go because Sam said they tried. She and Tucker handled them because the servants couldn't apprehend them without endangering them, their choices were limited. I had no choice but to accept that Sam and Tucker are always going to be a part of this. With them on the road to becoming a halfa, I will have to eventually accept it.

When patrol ended, I came home to find the house empty. I had dropped Sam and Tucker off at their houses so I was alone. I made something to eat and took the time to eat it instead of eating it on the run. Around ten-twenty, I started my late night patrols.

I was taking some time out around one o'clock when I heard something below. I was sitting on the roof of the school, watching the sky as I ate a yogurt. I looked down and carefully observed the area. Finally, I saw a slight twitch. I looked to my hands in horror as I realized that Mom and probably Samuels and Dad too, were observing a ghost eating. I lifted into the air and bolted a few feet away. I was still in hearing range but I figured they wouldn't know that.

"What gave us away," Mom asked in shock.

"I don't know," Dad replied. "We were watching him for ten minutes and he didn't pick up on it."

"Heck, I've been observing him for two months and he's never noticed," Mom declared. "Why would he suddenly pay attention."

"Why was he eating a yogurt," Samuels asked. "Didn't you find that bizarre?"

"With all the things I've seen him do, no," Mom replied. "I've learned to expect the unexpected when it comes to Phantom."

"Think we could spot him again," Dad asked.

"Absolutely," Mom replied. "He never goes far. He's probably still in the area."

Dang! How could I allow them to watch me for ten minutes without me catching onto it? I formed ectoplasm in my hand, disintegrating the plastic cup. I'm an idiot! I need to take more caution! I flew off, this time out of the area. I need to put plenty of distance between me and them.

O_O

The next day went much like Wednesday up until two hours into patrol. That's when the show airs and Sam and Tucker knew this. Normally, I don't watch it until the next day after the hooligans record it but they wanted to watch it as it aired. I decided we could take thirty minutes for me to die of embarrassment and we headed to HQ. I didn't want to barge in unannounced on the Adkins so I decided I'd watch it again tomorrow. Hopefully, they'll let me tell them what's inaccurate and I won't have to watch this again. Living it once was enough.

We settled onto the couch and Sam turned it on Nickelodeon. I was nervous as can be as I waited for that opening to come on. I didn't see what episode was scheduled to come on and I never do. I'd just rather be surprised.

Music started and it showed a dark room. When I saw the jewelry, I prayed this was something else but I knew it wouldn't be. The time I was controlled by Freakshow was all this could be. My cartoon ghost form phased through the wall, David Kaufman stating: "And I thought the merchandise is flying off the shelf was just an expression."

When the ghosts appeared on screen, Sam and Tucker now knew what day this was and they announced that with a gasp. I watched how that day went along and cringed when they cartoonized the stretching of my lips. Sam and Tucker laughed in a mixture of disbelief and horror as I just cringed. Everything was following the way it happened and it went on break shortly after I phased out of the shop. The last scene before the theme song was one officer asking another if he wanted to take the jewels and blame me.

"Is that…" I began.

"Stephano Gilbert," Sam stated. "That's Star's uncle!"

"Why are the ghosts different colors," Tucker asked.

"To differentiate," I sighed. "They made them easy to identify because bad guys should be easily identified."

"It's not true," Sam declared. "Sometimes, the bad guys seem normal."

"I know, you know it and Tucker knows it," I replied. "They just make things simpler. Like when they show me pushing the button on the theme song." The theme song was showing what powers I had to begin with. "A child wouldn't understand why I would get hurt if it wasn't my fault so they made it my fault. A lesson about doing what you're told and obeying adults."

"That's ridiculous," Sam retorted. "They're missing a valuable lesson here! Sometimes, bad things happen to good people. That could be beneficial to these kids' development."

"But it's not how the black and white world works," I replied. "If I had no fault in the accident, then I wouldn't be half ghost. That's how things should be."

"Well, it's not how it works," Tucker retorted. "And Sam's right. Teaching kids that doesn't help them."

"I know," I groaned. "But that's how they see it."

"Are you going to be all right watching this episode," Sam asked me.

"I'd like to know what happened," I replied. "The only thing I know about is what my dream told me. I'd like to see it through another perception. This might be the one episode I won't mind watching."

When the episode came on again, Tucker and I laughed at Sam's comment about her parents, "Just how I imagine them: animated!" Tucker and I gasped when Sam painted that dress black and cut it.

"Did you really do that," I asked.

"Yeah," Sam said. "It looked nothing like that. You can't paint clothing with a spray can that flawlessly."

"Why on Earth would you cut it that short," I demanded. "You're not that way."

"Exactly," Sam smiled. "But it'd bug my parents."

"Shoulda guessed," I groaned. I watched as Sam and her family were eating breakfast and watching a program. No wonder they looked at me funny that day. I walked in at the exact moment it said 'learn to recognize a bad influence when it walks in your door'. Hello!

Of course, there is no group called Anti-Social Youth and there is no track called My Parents Reek but I could see how Butch Hartman could interpret that. "What was it really," Tucker asked.

"Three Days Grace and I Hate Everything About You," I replied. "They can't use that name without permission. That's the next best thing."

Freakshow came on the screen and my cartoon-self went under hypnosis. Sam and Tucker were engrossed in the show by this point. Sam had no idea that I had fell under his spell that early and while I don't remember it, I knew that must have been a time from Sam's description of my behavior. I didn't snap out of it until outside.

"Man I wish eyes were that big," Sam declared. "I would have never missed that!"

"I know," I said softly. When it showed the clip of Tucker cross-dressing, I asked him, "How much did she pay you?"

"One hundred smackers," Tucker declared. I rolled my eyes. It reminded me of The Mummy Returns when Izzy tells Rick that he can shave him, wax him and use him as a surfboard if he'd give him that golden rod. The things people will do for money.

They gasped when I jumped off the truck as I rolled my eyes and they rolled their eyes at my pun while I chuckled. I guess we have different opinions on what is cool and what is unacceptable. I didn't see any big deal about jumping off the truck. Doing it now would require a lot of power and a lot less human strength but I was only a few weeks pregnant then.

I was surprised though when the billboard put me under his spell. I know I was missing time through that because I remember flying towards the train yard but then I was already there… I just never pieced it together. Tucker laughed at our deception of the police as Sam and I smiled at each other. I was surprised at how many times I was controlled. I knew I was controlled here but how easily it was for him to do it. I don't remember much after the preview of the performers.

I knew what she meant when the Goth painted my shirt black. The show had the shirt completely and flawlessly black but there were blotches of white, some darker areas, some lighter areas and to get that off my skin was a nightmare.

Things remained accurate to the most part as far as I could tell. Sam and Tucker confirmed that what they knew about was accurate so I'm assuming the creators kept this one close to the vest. Sam didn't admit it, but she reacted when her cartoon self said that she'd never hear the end of it if her parents found out I was really evil. I don't think she said that by her reaction and Tucker also held one of confusion. I'm going to say she didn't say that.

When Sam fell off the train, I was reliving that moment. That voice telling me to let her die, her going unconscious, I phasing my hand in her side to wake her up. It all flashed before my eyes as the drawing played out. No one would know how close she came to death there. If I had been one second too late, she would have died long before she hit the ground. It looked close enough to accurate so I didn't mention phasing my hands in her side. No need to worry them for nothing.

None of us laughed when the janitor shut the door on Mr. Lancer again. It wasn't funny. He could have died in there without any food or water. The school conserves heat on the weekend by turning off the heaters and it was in the beginning of February. That janitor should be tried for attempted murder but there's nothing I can do. Without Mr. lancer pressing charges, there is just no evidence.

"Are you okay," Sam asked me.

"I'm fine," I replied. "The only thing I don't want to see is Dan. I don't know if I can stand that and I hope they don't turn that and the King into episodes."

"I can't see how they could with the King," Tucker said. "That event was incredibly long. Think of how many episodes that would have to cover. There's the release, the fight, the town being sucked into the Ghost Zone, the battle with the King, your recovery… it'd take a long time."

"I hope so," I sighed. "No one needs to watch that day. Especially not a child." Would they even understand if David Kaufman quotes me when I said I didn't have to win? Would a seven or eight year old child understand that I was willing to die for my town?

**AN: Please take a moment and send me your thoughts. I can't read your thoughts! Lol. All forms of criticism accepted.**


	18. Chapter 18

**Disclaimer: I don't own Danny Phantom or Wal-Mart.**

**Warning: This story contains reference to rape, sexual content, male sex and pedophilia. If any of this disturbs you, please do not read.**

**Chapter 18: A New Idea**

We returned to patrol at eight-thirty and remained as usual. When I returned home, Samuels was the only one in the living room considering I wasn't late today. "Hey, Samuels," I replied.

"How are you this evening, Radar," Samuels asked.

"Fine," I replied. "Nothing big happened and I'm not late. I can't ask for a better end to patrol."

"Danny," Mom asked as she exited the kitchen. "I thought I heard you. You're on time."

"There weren't many attacks on the way home," I said, stretching. "Only ten tonight."

"That's wonderful, sweetheart," Mom said. "Are you going out tonight?"

"Yeah," I replied. "If the nighttime patrol is as easy as the evening patrol, I might be home by one."

"Was it light tonight," Mom asked me.

"Yeah," I replied. "Strange, too. I haven't seen attacks this light since Invincible. He's still in your custody, right?"

"Yes," Mom replied. "He won't ever leave."

"Good," I replied. I let out a deep sigh, "I've enjoyed not being butchered like a hog."

"Who is this Invincible," Samuels asked.

"He's a ghost who is immune to Ectoranium," I replied. Samuels's eyes widened. "He and his crew were killed in a mine collapse when they uncovered Ectoranium. He has the ability to transform his hands into anything made from Ectoranium. He'd come out at night and we'd get into it. Because he's immune to Ectoranium, he was a little harder for me to beat."

"Danny would come home with slashes and stabbings because of that bastard," Mom said with her teeth gritted. "One night Sam and Tucker were with Danny and he managed to capture him. I've had him since."

"And I don't miss him," I chuckled. "The hell that ghost put me through. All because someone in the Ghost Zone called me undefeatable."

"Is that what happened," Mom asked in shock.

"Yeah," I replied. "He can't stand the fact that there may be someone more powerful than him. He even killed some members of his crew so they couldn't rise up against him. Anyone reborn with his power, he obliterated. He's tried to obliterate me several times."

"It's kill, sweetheart," Mom replied. "Only ghosts can be obliterated."

"Sorry," I smiled sheepishly. "That's what he calls it."

"You know, it's weird," Mom replied. "I never hear him rant about you. It's always the ghost boy he rants about. Strange."

"Well, it's hard to tell," I replied, walking towards the kitchen. "I don't know what he did once he left. Maybe he and Phantom also had a contest."

O_O

I was happy when my alarm went off and I hadn't seen Mom all night. I guess she took my advice after all. I got dressed for the day and came downstairs. Today was Saturday so no one besides me would be up. I was careful not to wake anyone up and in the last couple months, I had become very good at it. I made my breakfast and was eating when the front door opened. Sam and Tucker have been getting up at the same time on weekends as well so they could be with me. Sam and Tucker sat down and I evaporated my ecto-sleeve I had their breakfasts covered in.

"Did you two sleep well last night," I asked.

"Great," Sam declared. "After you called last night, I had plenty of time for a good night's rest. Was there really not that many ghosts out last night?"

"None," I replied. "I, maybe, caught thirty. The biggest problem I had was my parents and Samuels. They followed me for forty percent of my patrol."

"Did they see anything," Tucker asked, digging into his sausage links.

"No," I replied. "I managed to act 'ghostly' when they were there."

"That's good," Sam said, cutting into her half-muffin sandwich. "You want to do some training today?"

"That sounds good," I replied. I needed to learn how to make myself more limber. With the size of my abdomen and the additional weight, I haven't been moving so swiftly as of late without the use of my powers. I've managed to cut the wobbling out but I've still got a lot of growing to do according to Dr. Reynolds.

O_O

I was on my nighttime patrol but things were drastically different tonight. My thermos was nearly full after the evening patrol and soon I would start to fill up Sam or Tucker's thermoses. Whatever the reason for yesterday's slow attitude they were making up for today. I caped my thermos after I finished capturing my last ghost and Clockwork appeared right beside me. I jumped.

"Sorry," Clockwork said. "With Vlad being in the town last night, there's no good time to do this." Clockwork smacked his staff and we were in his tower again.

"What do you mean Vlad was in town last night," I demanded.

"You'll see him tonight," Clockwork said. "Hurry, he's twitching!"

I turned to see Dan in his usual position but I didn't see him twitching. I shrugged, not caring if he was twitching or not. I just wanted him secure again. I pulled out Tucker's thermos and untwisted the bottom. I stuck it in my human jeans and pulled out an empty capsule set. I twisted the bottom back on and sucked Dan in the thermos again.

"Thank you," Clockwork said. He smacked his staff again and we reappeared on the streets. "Best of luck, Danny."

"Thanks," I grumbled. I'd need it if Vlad was coming.

O_O

I knew he was in the area when the ghost I was fighting couldn't run away fast enough. The streets became uncharacteristically quiet so I sensed around me for my family and Samuels. They were several hundred meters away from me so I knew I was safe. Finally, Vlad landed beside of me.

"I haven't heard from you in a while," I said, crossing my arms. He kept coming around after I asked him to give me the space but a week after he infected Sam and Tucker, he knew that I really did need that space. I didn't know if I forgave him for hurting Sam and Tucker or not. I know he didn't mean to start their transformation but that fact remains he did.

"I've been busy," Vlad replied. "I want to ask you something."

"What," I asked.

"You said you could never leave your family. You said you could never leave your town. I understand that and I don't want to push you so I've come up with a solution," Vlad began.

I covered my face with my hand, "Oh, Vlad. Don't do this. Your plans are never a good idea."

"Just hear me out," Vlad replied. "The entire town of Amity Park comes to live on the island!"

"What," I declared, snapping my head up in his direction.

"Just hear me out," Vlad began as I groaned. "We turn everyone half ghost and we populate the world with halfas!"

"Rocker, center, stay," I declared. "Vlad, that is crazy. We don't need to populate the world with halfas. There's only two!"

"For now," Vlad declared.

"Yes, for now. Then in two months there will be three and in five years there will be five," I continued.

"We could save the halfa race," Vlad added in a rush.

"Are you listening to me," I cried. "There is no race! There will be five creatures. We're flukes. As soon as Lilly lives her life out, there will be no more."

"Lilly will have siblings," Vlad declared. "Sam and Tucker will marry and have children. We can't allow that gene to die."

"Lilly will be an only child unless you and I don't get together," I declared. "Vlad, I know you want children but I can't do it. I'm too busted up to provide you with healthy children and survive myself. Lilly will have to be the only one unless you want to go get someone else pregnant!"

"Daniel, it's only you for me," Vlad said softly. "You'll do fine, I'm sure."

"Well, I'm not so sure," I replied. "So forget this idea about transporting the entire town. It's crazy and you're not crazy anymore."

"Can't you at least tell your family about us," Vlad declared. "I don't want you to be fighting anymore!"

"What about my town," I declared. "Sam and Tucker are good but they're not that good. Mom and Dad have improved but they haven't improved that much. I can't leave them here defenseless."

"They won't be," Vlad replied. "They'll just have no reason to need protection. We'll lock the portal down; keep the ghosts from coming out! The ghosts that do escape through the natural portals will be minimal and will move on. Come on, Daniel. Move to the island for the last two months of your pregnancy. You can't possibly expect to keep doing this until the night you deliver and then go back out."

"I haven't thought that far ahead," I said, holding my head down. "I'm just scared, Vlad. I still love you even though I am having difficultly at not being mad at you. I don't want to ruin that because I tell my parents I'm with a man their age, we're half ghost, and guess what, we're having a baby. What would they do?"

"There's only one way to find out," Vlad said softly. He stepped towards me and my heart melted.

"You really want to do this," I said softly.

"More than anything," Vlad replied. "I love having you in my arms. I know I won't be able to do this in public because of my image but we should be able to do it in front of our family. I'll even call Dad and tell him."

"You won't tell them our origins," I said, looking him in the eye.

"You don't want them to know I raped you," Vlad said softly.

"You didn't," I replied, stepping into his embrace. I sighed as my feeling returned. I couldn't smell and there was nothing to taste but I knew they were probably back too. "You made a mistake that I forgave you for. No one else has to know."

"I love you, Daniel," Vlad said softly. "And I miss you. I want you back."

"I've told you that I've not left," I replied. "It's just like when I went home after Christmas," I replied softly. "Even though you weren't always there, I knew that I was still yours. That's the way it is now. Even though I'm not there, I'm still yours."

"Please," Vlad said, pulling me back to look me in the eye. "Tell Maddie, Jack, Jasmine, Sam and Tucker. I don't want to hide anymore."

"Okay," I said softly. "I have to tell Sam and Tucker about Lilly as well so I might as well include everyone and everything."

"Thank you," Vlad replied. He leaned down and kissed me. I returned the kiss, getting lost in his presence. "Call me when you want me there," Vlad replied. "If you want to do it together or if you want to do it alone is up to you. Whatever makes you more comfortable, my love."

"I think I'd rather do it alone," I replied. "Keeps things balanced."

"Then call me when you're ready to reveal me," Vlad replied. "Goodbye, Daniel."

"Goodbye, Vlad," I said, sighing. Vlad teleported out. "Oh, God, let this work."

O_O

I was pacing the floor in anxiousness. I didn't know how this was going to play out. I didn't know how Mom and Dad were going to react. I didn't know how Sam, Tucker and Jazz would react to Vlad.

I didn't know how I went from sleeping to pacing.

The best thing I could figure out was I was having another pathetic dream. This would happen tomorrow and I didn't know whether that was a good thing or a bad thing. One, I would know the outcome before the incident. Two, I would know the outcome before the incident!

"Danny," Sam declared. "What is gotten into you?"

"I'm nervous," I answered. Sam, Tucker and Jazz were the ones there because let's face it, I had to tell them first. Sam and Tucker know about my 'dreams' from before Christmas but they don't know that it was real. Jazz knows about Vlad and she and I had that conversation about forgiveness. If anyone would react badly the first time, it would be them. I had to keep the rape out of the conversation or Mom and Dad would never forgive him.

"It's just us," Jazz said. "What has you so nervous?"

Sam glared at Jazz while Tucker just stared at me in curiosity. Well, it's now or never.

"You guys know there are some things that I would absolutely not tell you. I've decided it's time for you to know."

"Really," Tucker declared. Sam elbowed him. "Sorry, go on."

I swallowed hard. Here goes nothing. "Okay, to get Jazz up to speed before I tell you guys." I sighed, my body starting to shake. I pulled myself together, taking a calming breath. "A few months ago, I told Sam and Tucker about something that happened. I had been feeling strange and I had been having weird dreams, I told them. I kept having this dream about the night that I met Vlad, before the reunion. I was fighting him, he duplicated out, forced me to my knees and he hurt me. After I escaped, the next thing I remember is waking up from a nightmare about Vlad. I struggled to understand the dream. Sometimes, I thought that I had dreamed the entire thing." I took another breath, speaking softly, "and then sometimes I thought that Vlad had raped me."

"What," Jazz declared. Sam shushed her.

"That's what I told Sam and Tucker, or something along those lines," I replied. I took another breath, "This is the truth." Sam and Tucker snapped in my direction. "By that time, I knew Vlad had raped me. The week that I spent with him, he laid down the law and made things pretty clear. One of the laws, I couldn't tell anyone about what was happening."

"Danny," Sam, Tucker and Jazz said, their eyes filling with tears.

"That was what was wrong with me after I returned," I said softly. "I was struggling with what had happened and I didn't know who to turn to. If I told anyone, he'd hurt them or kill them. He learned my weakness. He didn't threaten to hurt me—he threatened to hurt you guys. I couldn't let you guys be punished for my mistakes."

"Why are you telling us this now," Sam asked. "Isn't Vlad still making you obey?"

"I'm not Vlad's bitch anymore," I said softly, taking another breath. "After the King, he and I became a couple."

"What," they declared again.

"Vlad fell in love with me," I replied. "When I got to know him, I fell in love with him too."

"No," Jazz declared. "You have fallen in Stockholm Syndrome."

"I'm not in Stockholm Syndrome," I rolled my eyes. "My therapist and everyone at the clinic think so too. I've read the books, I've been separated from him, I've dated Valerie… I wouldn't be able to do those things."

"But you keep coming back," Sam declared. "Why did you go back to him?"

"Because I loved him," I replied. "And," I took another breath, "I'm carrying his child."

Jazz stared at me like I was crazy while Sam and Tucker lowered their heads. "I was afraid of that," Sam said softly, "but I couldn't figure out how or if you even could."

"Why would you suspect that," I declared in shock.

"I read up on ghost biology," Sam replied. "The day I took Tucker to the library and asked you to leave. I showed Tucker the text about it. I didn't know if you could do it because you weren't a full ghost but things were just getting too freaky."

"Yeah," I said softly. "I'm seven months pregnant," I replied. I just told Brit on Thursday so I should be able to tell them.

"I-I-I don't understand," Jazz stuttered.

"Ghosts are Hermaphrodites," Sam answered, causing me to blink repeatedly. "It doesn't matter whether the couple is heterosexual or homosexual. Even heterosexual females can impregnate their male spouse. I don't know why that is but all Vlad has to do is have sex with him in his vagina."

"You have a vagina," Tucker declared.

"I prefer to call it my sensitive area," I replied. "It's incredibly tiny."

"Incredibly," Sam answered. "His uterus would set just mere inches up in him. That's what happened that weekend when you were put on bed rest, wasn't it! You went into premature labor!"

"Yeah," I answered softly. "I was under so much stress and I think when Aaragon smashed me to the ground, he put additional strain on Lilly. I went into premature labor but the clinic stopped it."

"Lilly," Jazz said. "Is that the name of my niece?"

"Yeah," I smiled. They weren't handling the information about Vlad well but they were handling the information about Lilly. "Lillian Madeline Fenton."

Tears flooded Sam's eyes, "That's a beautiful name. It's like Lilith."

"Kind of," I smiled. "I know you guys don't understand about Vlad but he's the father of my baby. I'm not asking you to accept him… I'm asking you not to mention this to Mom and Dad."

"How," Jazz asked. "I mean why? You're not planning on telling them, are you?"

"Actually," I said as all eyes fell on me. "I am. Vlad wants me to spend the remainder of my pregnancy on the island. While I'm not sure I'll do that, he wants Mom and Dad to know about us. I won't be able to hide a growing girl from them so I might as well tell them. I know they'll accept me and I think as long as they don't know about the rape, they'll accept Vlad too."

"You're kidding, right," Jazz said. "They'll accept a fifteen year old boy with a forty-six year old man!"

"Why wouldn't they," I asked, not seeing her doubt. "We're both responsible and we didn't know we could get pregnant. I'll be more careful in the future."

"If you think so," Jazz sighed.

"We won't mention the rape," Sam sighed, "but that doesn't mean we'll accept Vlad. We'll just have to tolerate him."

"That's all I'm asking," I said softly. "Tuck? Jazz?"

"Fine," Tucker snorted.

"I'll always be there for you, little brother," Jazz sighed.

"Thanks," I replied. "Now, to go face the music."

We walked downstairs and called Mom and Dad to the living room. Samuels also attended and I got a little fearful about this. However, I knew that Samuels was also on the verge of beating the Reality Gauntlet. This way, I prevented any mishaps.

"I wanted to tell you guys some things," I replied. "I haven't been completely honest with you."

"About what," Mom asked.

"About my ghost activity," I replied. "First off, to get Samuels up to speed." I chuckled inwardly. With each group, I had to bring one person up to speed. "I opened the portal," I explained, looking to Samuels. "When Mom and Dad tried, they couldn't get it to work. Mom and Dad know about my 'little' accident. What they don't know about was it wasn't little."

"What," Dad asked as Mom stared at me in shock.

"I didn't get shocked by a short in a wire," I explained. "I was fully in the portal when it came on. Tuck was right, I was electrocuted."

"That's impossible," Mom declared. "You would be killed!"

"I was half killed," I replied. "I'm not poisoned, guys. I'm half ghost."

"Half ghost," Samuels asked. "What's this about poisoned?"

"We covered up the fact that Danny shows up on ghost radars with a lie about ecto-poisoning. I knew there would be no way to test that theory so we lied to them."

"When I was electrocuted, half of my body was converted into a ghost. I have a ghost form and ghost powers and everything. But I also can remain a human and blend in. It's confusing."

"You have a ghost form," Dad declared.

"Yeah," I said softly. "A ghost you guys know well… well, you think you know." I took another breath, triggering the rings. Mom, Dad and Samuels's eyes grew wide as the light passed over me. Mom looked about to faint when I finished the transformation: "I'm not seventeen years old. I'm fifteen."

Dad started to stutter. "It was Danny and now it's Phantom. I don't understand!"

"Danny Phantom is my alter ego," I said softly. "I'm still Danny Fenton."

"That's why Phantom looks familiar," Samuels declared. "Oh, my God."

"Mom," I said, triggering my rings. I stepped close to her but she stepped back. "Mom," I asked, hurt. Could her opinion change this quickly? Just last week she accepted me!

"I can't believe this," Mom said, her eyes filling with tears. "Y-Y-You can't be the ghost boy."

"I'm sorry, Mom," I said, my own eyes filling with tears. "I never meant to be a disappointment."

"What," Mom asked, tears falling down her cheeks. "You're not the disappointment. I am! I let you down."

"You have never let me down," I said, heartbroken. "Mom, you have always been my rock. You're the one who has helped me through this."

"Why didn't you tell us," Dad asked.

"I was afraid," I said, looking to him. "I thought you would destroy me or keep me captive or the least not accept me. I was so scared of losing you—of losing Mom. I didn't want to jeopardize it."

"That's where all those fears and insecurities came from," Mom said softly. She finally attached to me, hugging me tightly.

"It's also where all the lies and the hiding came from," I said softly. "Denying to have tests done, refusing contact, lying to you. I never thought I could let you know if I wanted this to continue."

"What made you change your mind," Samuels asked.

"The reason you're here," I said, looking to him. "On the last day of school, Freakshow attacked. I was being stupid and ignored him. The night of the concert, Freakshow attacked again. When we activated the Gauntlet by accident, we had to keep him from being able to use it. Sam knew if you thought of a place to hide the gems while you were holding them, they would disappear. When we sent the gems away, an explosion happened and my powers were affected. I powered down on the stage in front of the entire concert audience and with the cameras rolling. The network was in town so my secret was exposed all across the globe."

"What Gauntlet," Mom declared.

"The Reality Gauntlet," I replied, "it's a—."

"The Reality Gauntlet," Mom declared, her face breaking out in a smile. "Where is it?"

"All over the side yard," I said, looking at her funny. "Why?"

"How is it all over the side yard," Mom asked.

Dad put his hand on Mom's shoulder, "He means he destroyed it and I know when he did it."

"Yeah, why do you ask," I replied.

"You destroyed the Reality Gauntlet," Mom declared. "Sweetie, that was the most powerful ghostly object ever discovered."

"It is the most powerful ghostly object," Sam explained, "which is why we didn't object to its destruction. It was a forty-four. You should have seen what Freakshow put Danny through with that thing!"

"Guys," I shot, keeping my voice soft.

"You might as well tell her," Tucker declared. "Maybe it'll help her sleep better."

"My nightmare," Mom whispered as her eyes filled with tears. "How did you survive?"

"I pulled myself back together," I said softly. "There was nothing to worry about. Freakshow thought if he destroyed my body, he would destroy me but I heal at such a rapid rate that it's nearly impossible to destroy my body."

"What are you talking about," Samuels demanded.

"Freakshow trapped Mom, Dad, Jazz, Sam, Tucker, Mom and Dad Number Two and Mr. and Mrs. Manson on a rollercoaster and forced me to try to save them. However, he never planned on allowing me to save them. When I arrived in front of the coaster to catch it, he turned me to Jell-O and I was hit by the rollercoaster. Mom fought the power of the Gauntlet and dreams of it every night. She sees Phantom hit by the rollercoaster but she knew at the time that I was Phantom. Because I erased her memory, she didn't understand why her dream-self reacted that way but it nearly killed her to watch me 'die.'"

"Why did you erase our memories," Mom demanded.

"I didn't want you learning the truth over the television," I replied. "I thought you deserved to hear it from me, not watch it on television."

Mom hugged me tightly, "I am so sorry, baby. I love you and nothing could ever make me hate you."

"I appreciate that so much," I said softly. "But there's more that I need to explain to you."

"There's more," Dad said as Mom released me.

"Yeah," I said. "It's the reason I'm doing this now." I took a deep breath, "My boyfriend wanted me to tell you guys about us."

"Your what," Samuels demanded.

Mom and Dad blinked at me as I took another breath, "There's another half ghost. Ghosts are attracted to power the same way humans are attracted to wealth or looks. Because we're the only elevens, for now, we were attracted to each other. As I took the time to get to know the real him, I fell in love with him. I never imagined myself gay and I'm not attracted to any other guys but I am in love with him. I want to introduce you to us."

"I thought you loved Sam," Samuels demanded.

"You even went out with a girl," Dad declared.

"We've had some rough patches," I sighed. "He tried to kidnap me so I wouldn't be in danger and I erased that memory from your minds and ended up collapsing because of it. I forgave him because he did have my best interests at heart but I ended up breaking it off with him again. We got back together for a short time but that ended when he tried to kill Jazz for tricking him. I forgave him because he said he needed my help to stay on the right path." Sam, Tucker and Jazz scoffed. "The last time we had an official breakup was when he infected Sam and Tucker with ecto-acne."

"What," Dad asked as a look of understanding crossed Mom's face.

"It's Vlad," Mom declared. "I should have known!"

"Yeah," I said softly. "Vlad and I are the only half ghosts at least until Sam and Tucker complete their transformation. When he infected them with ecto-acne, Sam and Tucker started to change over."

"What," Jazz declared.

"Yeah," Sam said. "We wanted to do it through the portal but Danny dreamed about it and didn't want to risk making a mistake. Then he dreamed of trying to stop the accident and he died within an hour."

"If they were already half ghost when Vlad infected them, the virus would push them over and they would die," I explained. "You can't be more than half ghost."

"What do you mean you dreamed of it," Samuels replied.

"I have a power that I call pathetic dreams but they're really prophetic," I explained. "I dream of a future event and I can't wake up until I finish. Those nights you heard me waking up and you thought it was a nightmare were actually pathetic dreams. My vitals shut down when I go into my dreams."

"Well, can we see Vlad," Dad asked. "Introduce him to the family?"

I smiled, "Sure." I took a deep breath, opening my mind. Vlad, you can come over here now.

Vlad teleported in. "Hi, Maddie. Hi, Jack."

Dad turned around on the couch, ripping open the drawer on the side table. He pointed the thermos at Vlad.

"What are you doing," I declared as Dad sucked Vlad inside. Mom dropped a small green pill in the container. "Give me that thermos," I declared.

"Did you honestly believe we would just allow you to date a man our age," Mom declared. "Because you are seriously mistaken if you did!"

"I thought you'd understand," I declared. "Give me that thermos!"

"Not on your life," Mom said.

"You have no right to do that to him," I declared.

"I for one am glad they did," Sam said, crossing her arms. "Vlad raped him until March!"

"Sam," I said, turning to her.

"He what," Mom roared.

I turned back to Mom. "It wasn't his fault," I said. "I denied to join him and he done what he used to do. He's a changed man."

"The hell he is," Tucker declared.

"He's trapped you in Stockholm Syndrome and you're so deep in it that you don't even know it," Jazz declared.

"I'm not in Stockholm Syndrome," I declared, my eyes stinging. "Now give me that thermos or we'll see who's the better hunter!"

"Don't think that I won't capture you," Mom declared. "You are still my baby, young man. I am responsible for you."

"No one is responsible for me but me," I declared. "Now give me that thermos!"

"I'm sorry, baby," Mom said, taking the thermos from Dad. "It's for your own good."

"Then I'm sorry as well," I replied, turning invisible. Mom and Dad came to their feet.

"Invisibility lights," Mom called. "Please let them work," Mom whispered.

"Don't hurt him," Sam cried. "He's pregnant!"

"What," Dad declared.

"Give me the thermos," Sam said, turning on her belt.

"How is he pregnant," Samuels demanded.

"Ghosts have both sex organs," Tucker explained. "When Vlad raped him, I'm guessing he impregnated him. Danny was going to tell you after he told you about Vlad."

Mom tossed the thermos and I shot a beam, diverting the trajectory. I sunk through the floor as I heard Tucker cuss and Sam declare. I came back up right in front of it to see it shooting away. I looked in the direction to see Tucker with a smoking bazooka.

"He could be anywhere," Sam cried. I guess they didn't turn on the invisibility lights or at least they weren't working.

"On it," Tucker declared. He pulled out his PDA. Crap! I sunk through the floor again, flying to the thermos. "Shoot the thermos again," Tucker cried. "He's right underneath it!" A shot rang out.

"How do you know that," Mom cried.

"We've got a tracker in Tuck's PDA," Sam explained. "Danny's got a unique signature."

I relocated to where the thermos landed to hear another shot. "He's not giving up," Tucker cried.

"It's Danny," Sam retorted. "Did you expect him to give up?"

I can't let them get that thermos. I'm not sure if that belt would hurt Vlad or not. I phased through the floor in a different place. "He's there," Tucker cried, pointing in my direction. I focused all my energy in my ecto-energy, imagining a lasso. I imagined the thermos in my mind, imagining my energy looping it and the thermos flying to me. Finally, I mastered the technique of shooting a beam without the use of my hands. I wrapped my hand tightly around the thermos, sinking back through the floor.

"Shoot," Sam declared as they started running.

"He's heading to the lab," Tucker cried a floor above me.

"He's going to release Vlad," Sam declared.

I inserted the thermos, releasing Vlad. I waited for him to come back in but he didn't. I heard footsteps retreating. I flew through the portal to see Vlad asleep.

"Vlad," I cried, shaking him. Vlad still slept soundly. "Wake up, Vlad!"

"He's not going to wake up," a voice declared. I looked up to see Mom on the Earth side of the portal. "Now, come back here so we can discuss this as a family."

"Why should I," I demanded. Tears flooded my eyes. "You're trying to tear apart my family!"

"Sweetheart, I know you think—," Mom began.

"Oh, shut up," I declared as my eyes stung. "You know nothing about my life. My life for the past nine months has been nothing but a lie to you! How I ever thought you could understand is beyond me!"

"Danny," Mom said softly, her eyes pleading.

"No," I declared, wiping my tears away. "You are not my family anymore!" I phased my hand though Vlad, whatever chemical Mom poisoned him with flooding away. Vlad stirred awake. "Vlad, take us home!"

"Daniel, what happened," Vlad asked.

"Maddie and Jack turned on you," I said. "They turned on all three of us."

"Daniel," Vlad said softly.

"No," I replied. "I made a mistake. I should have left with you a long time ago. Let's go home."

Vlad put his hand on my shoulder. "Unhand my son, you monster," Mom demanded.

"You don't have a son anymore," I said, glaring at her. "If you come after us, I will use force." We teleported out.

O_O

The dream continued for a long time. I gave birth to Lilly and they still hadn't found me. I gave Vlad another child, another girl. They still didn't find us. When I gave birth to my third child, a son, they finally found us but our family was too strong. Our daughters and son were uber-powerful and it forced them to retreat. I got pregnant again, this time having triplets and they came back. We were too powerful for them again and forced them to retreat. I didn't see them again for another two pregnancies but on my last pregnancy, I didn't survive the delivery. I returned to the island instead of living in the Ghost Zone after having ten children in seven years spent my energy. Vlad was so devastated, though, that when they returned, he didn't even fight them.

They took Vlad captive and took our children and I back to Fentonworks. No one had done what they were supposed to. Sam and Tucker were half ghost and so was Jazz but none of them had gotten married or had children. They spent the seven years trying to 'rescue' me. No one knew I was a full ghost because I had used a power I learned on the island to make myself look natural. I didn't know how I did it and as he learned it, I still didn't know how to do it. I haven't exactly lived every day he has lived so he's learned things that I haven't learned. I knew I had to learn how to do it because it could help with my ever-growing abdomen. I know one thing, I'm not telling anyone about Vlad and I and since I can't do that, I can't tell them about Lilly.

O_O

I shot awake to find Sam and Tucker sitting in my room, the sun shining brightly. I knew I overslept. I knew it in my dream. I didn't get into bed until three-thirty but that was a super-long dream. The last dream I had that long was the very first dream I had and I didn't get to school until after lunch. "What time is it," I asked.

"Eleven-fifty," Tucker said.

I groaned, "Stupid dream."

"What did you dream about this time," Sam asked.

"I'd rather not say," I sighed. "What do you guys want to do?"

"I don't know," Tucker said as Sam studied me.

"I need to do something real quick," I replied. "You guys mind waiting for me?"

"No," Tucker said. Sam was still quiet.

"I'll be right back," I said, standing up. I grabbed my clothes and ran to the bathroom. I'd shower later. First, I needed to tell Vlad 'change of plans!'.

O_O

"You are being so stubborn," I cried a few minutes later at the house in Elemerton. "This has nothing to do with you."

"It has everything to do with me," Vlad declared. "You're ashamed to be with either a man or with me! Which one is it?"

"Neither," I declared. "I can't help who I love."

"But you won't tell your family about us," Vlad accused.

"Not if it means that I have to choose between my two families," I objected. "Believe me when I say that dream was horrible. I died in seven years, Vlad!"

"That dream doesn't have to come true," Vlad objected.

"They always come true," I said, lowering my voice. I can't believe I'm having this conversation.

"Daniel, just admit it. You're embarrassed of me. Why wouldn't you be? I'm a disgrace!"

"You are not," I objected. "You're trying to turn a new leaf. It's not easy and I understand that!"

"I mean, you chose right from the very beginning," Vlad continued. "You had no doubt about what you wanted to do. I chose wrong from the very beginning."

"Will you stop," I demanded. "I am not embarrassed of you, I love you with all my heart and if that dream last night didn't happen, I would tell them."

"It was just a dream," Vlad declared.

"From a power that is almost always accurate," I declared. "Vlad, I know you must be hurt but I swear to you iT has nothing to do with you."

"Just go back home, Daniel," Vlad said, turning away from me. "Nothing you can will change my mind. I know the truth."

"Apparently you don't," I screamed. "If you think after all this time that I could be embarrassed of you, then you know nothing about me! I have done nothing but try to keep us together. Even when I broke up with you those times, I still loved you. I just want you to succeed!"

I turned intangible and flew back to the Fentonworks. I was furious with Vlad. Why couldn't he see that I was being honest? I have made some bad mistakes before when it came to him and agreeing to his insane proposal was just another mistake. My dream just warned me about that. I know I am doing the right thing here… I just hope Vlad will forgive me.

O_o

School resumed that Tuesday and I think every kid mourned for summer. Jazz was among the very few that were fortunate enough to not need to go to school. Jazz wouldn't be around though to rub that in. She had a two-week camp she wanted to attend and Mom and Dad saw no problem with that. She'd be back before fourth of July. At least that would give me some time to deal with the fact that she doesn't need to go to summer school. It was so unfair but Jazz has always made it an effort to do her best—even when there is a ghost attacking.

Summer school wasn't all that bad, though. There was some perks to the day. School didn't start until nine o'clock because no one failed every class. When we arrived at school, it started like a new school year. We met in the gym at nine o'clock. All the teachers lined up and called their first period roll. Classes weren't divided by subjects, though, they were divided by teachers. There was by far more subjects than teachers.

Sam, Tuck and I all had Mr. Lancer first class. When he finished calling all his class, we moved to his classroom. There, he gave us our schedules. We three groaned when we saw we had Mr. Fuluka and Mrs. Tetslaff. Mrs. Tetslaff didn't teach Home Ec. or coach gym, she taught History. We only had school until lunch because we passed our last four classes but there were some kids that went to school until the end of the day, to the seventh period. Almost everyone had an elective and no one failed every class.

"Does that mean we can go home after lunch," Tucker asked.

"Yeah," Mr. Lancer replied. "We don't have the teachers or the resources to hold a kid longer than necessary so as soon as your last class is over, you can go home."

All the kids let out celebratory sounds. I raised my hand, "Please tell me I don't have to go to detention."

"No," Mr. Lancer replied. I breathed a sigh of relief. "I'll see you on the first day of the 2005-2006 year."

"Thank goodness," I sighed.

"Danny's still in detention," Star declared.

"Yeah," Mr. Lancer said. "He'll probably be there until graduation."

"Are you serious," Dash declared. "What did he do?"

"He broke 21 beakers," Mr. Lancer said, "pulled the fire alarm, skipped classes, left without permission. There's a million things he's done."

"Well, that's stupid," Dash declared. "He shouldn't still be punished."

"It's nothing," I replied. "I kinda like it," I added. "I have additional time to get my homework finished."

"Are you sure," Dash asked. "I could pardon you."

"Ha," I declared. "I don't need you to pardon me," I added more calmer. Dash offering to pardon me was ridiculous. I could be pardoned by the President!

"Okay," Dash said, narrowing his eyes. He hated that I saw him as a little man. I chuckled as I remembered his fit when Dad shrunk Skulker, he and I. "What's so funny?"

"Nothing," I said, curbing my laughter.

"Anyway," Mr. Lancer said. "There will be no school on Fridays. Next Wednesday, the twenty-ninth, will start the fourth of July weekend that includes the swearing in of a new mayor. School will resume Monday, July twelfth. The last day of school will be Thursday, August fifth. The camp will begin the next day, the sixth and will go through the twentieth. The new school year will start that Monday, the twenty-third. Any questions?"

"What is this school planning on doing to prevent this next year," I asked.

"We're adopting the popular practice of blocks," Mr. Lancer answered. "Instead of eight forty-five minute classes, we will have four different ninety minute classes in the new semesters."

The kids started to erupt in disapproval while my throat clogged. "That's not going to work," I declared. "That's going to make things worse! There will be an hour and a half in each class for the ghosts to disrupt."

"If you have any suggestions, Mr. Fenton, please feel free to give them because we have no idea how to combat against this," Mr. Lancer said.

"I think we should have a class taught about ghost safety," I replied. "A big part of the issue is the students have no idea how to act around the ghosts."

"Neither do the teachers," Tucker grumbled.

"I think we do fine around the ghosts," Charlie demanded.

I scoffed. "Yeah, right, Princeton! Every time a ghost attacks, you guys scream and run away."

"We're just clearing out for the ghost boy," Katrina said. "He doesn't need the crowd."

"You're right," I replied, "But you could do it in an orderly fashion."

"What do you know about ghost hunting, Fenton," Charlie demanded.

I scoffed. "You don't live in a family of ghost hunters without learning a thing or two about hunting."

"You run the wrong way," Kwan said, his voice soft but telling.

"I don't run the wrong way," I declared, confused.

"It's so universal that we have a saying," Dash said. "If the Dweebs are running one way, run the opposite way in the same polar. Like, if you guys are running North, run North-West."

"Why do you do that," I asked, smirking. I know what they think now.

"Because you guys are running in the direction of the ghost so we know to run towards the ghost but in the opposite direction."

"Exactly," Sam laughed. "We're fighting the ghost, not running away from it."

"What," Charlie demanded. "Impossible. I bet you guys are as useless to a ghost as Team Phantom is."

"What," Sam and Tucker declared.

"Why do you think Team Phantom is useless," I demanded. That's my team!

"They're always in their headquarters," Katrina declared. "Every time you call the one-eight-hundred-Phantom number, they answer it. Would it kill them to get out there on the streets and help?"

"I'll have you to know—," Sam started to mouth off. I jumped from my desk, covering her mouth.

"That's enough, Sam," I said.

"How dare they say that," Tucker demanded. "What are they doing to help? Feeding the ghosts!"

"We've done everything we can think of," Katrina declared. "I have no idea how the ghosts are eating unless they're getting it out of the garbage can!"

Oh, my God. "They're not eating lunches, idiots! They're eating fear!" I sighed, "Oi, I need to go back to training four through ten!"

"Ghosts can eat human food but that's not what feeds them," Tucker declared, his voice hard. "Ghosts feed on human emotions. Every time you scream and run, you're feeding the ghosts."

"Why didn't you say that in the first place," Dash demanded.

"Because, I need to go back to training four through ten," I said, covering my face. I'm an idiot.

"We're all over ten," Chris declared.

"Yeah," I scoffed, "Well, those kids at the camp are smarter than you guys and they're under ten."

"What camp," Dash asked.

"The Ghost Hunters Youth Camp," I replied, finally lifting my head up to look at everyone. "I train the eleven to seventeen year olds."

"You train ghost hunters," Charlie scoffed.

"Yes, Charlie," I said, sarcastically. "I am the Reigning Champion for ten years in a roll."

"You, reigning," Charlie scoffed again. Oi, I hate this!

"Yes," I declared. "I have been declared the best ghost hunter."

The kids burst out laughing, making me turn red. This is embarrassing.

"Go ahead and laugh, but know you guys could never beat us at ghost hunting," Tucker declared. "You want to know how useless Team Phantom is, call them!"

"What," I said, snapping my head up. "Guys!"

"No," Sam demanded. "They can do it if they're not too scared to.".

Paulina pulled out the phone, "I'm not scared! What do I have to be scared of?"

"Wait, no," I cried. I do not want to be associated with Team Phantom! Paulina pushed the number 1 button and pressed send. Well, that makes sense. After the first sending tone went, a phone rang out in the classroom. Sam pulled the phone from her pocket.

"Team Phantom, how may I help you," Sam retorted. "It's a cell phone, dense!"

The whole class gasped. "You're on Danny Phantom's ghost hunting team!"

"No," Tucker scoffed. "He's on ours. Team Phantom was our ghost hunting team long before he joined it."

"That's crazy," Paulina said, closing the phone. "You guys aren't cool enough to know Phantom."

I slammed my head against my desk. This is a nightmare. Not a pathetic dream; an actual nightmare! I wished it was a pathetic dream.

"He found us," Tucker said. "When he first came to the real world, we were in the lab. A few weeks later, he asked to use some of the Fenton's ghost hunting weapons. He offered his help for payment in return for the weapons. So when you guys call for help, we go after the ghost if it's a small one or call him when it gets bad."

"You guys are lying," Charlie demanded. "There is no way you could fight a ghost."

"Charlie, you weren't there," Katrina declared. "You didn't see Danny lead us when our parents were kidnapped by the pirates!"

"I think you guys were delusional," Charlie said. "There is no way Fenton and his freaky friends are good ghost hunters. Hell, his parents aren't even any good."

"They are too," I declared. "My parents might not be as good as Phantom but they are good! They're better inventors, though, I must say."

"They can't catch ghosts and neither can you," Charlie demanded.

"Princeton, you are pissing me off," I declared. "My parents catch ghosts all the time and our team catches over one hundred a day!"

"Yeah, right," Charlie scoffed.

I grunted, "What would you do as a team, huh? What good would you do as Phantom's personal team?"

"When we get ready, we will be his new team," Charlie declared. "You won't be Team Phantom anymore."

"We'll always be Team Phantom," I relied. "We've been Team Phantom since sixth grade. We were Team Phantom because we were invisible."

Mr. Lancer chuckled, "That's very clever."

"No matter," Charlie said, closing his eyes. "We will prove you obsolete!"

"Fat chance," Tucker chuckled. I smiled at him to see Sam smiling at me too. "Phantom would never chose you over us."

"Why don't you call him since you have a direct line to the boss," Charlie said sarcastically. "Prove it!"

"Okay," I said, standing up. "I'll go get him."

"Why can't you just call him here," Katrina asked.

"He's at our headquarters," I explained. "I have to go to him and bring him back."

"Right," Sam said, catching on. "Either Danny or Phantom is at HQ at all times!"

"I bet that's confusing," Kwan laughed. "Both of them named Danny! Even their last names rhyme!"

I swallowed hard, "Imagine that! Be back!"

I waited around for several minutes before I finally transformed and phased into the classroom. "Someone ask for my presence," I asked.

"Phantom," Paulina jumped up. She tried to hang around my neck but she fell straight through.

"Sorry," I said, helping her to her feet. "I'm a ghost. It's hard for me to touch or be touched by elements of this realm."

"Will you tell these crazies that they are not your team," Charlie said, crossing his arms.

"Who, Sam and Tucker," I said. "They're not. I'm their weapon."

"You're a part of our team," Sam said, her teeth clenched.

"I'm just the gun," I said. "Why?"

"They're really your team," Dash asked in shock. "Fenton too?"

"It's not my team," I declared. "We formed a collaboration. I give them assistance when they need it. They fight most of the ghosts."

"That's outrageous," Charlie demanded. "They're lousy wannabes and wimps!"

"I wouldn't want to be against them," I said, smiling at Sam and Tucker. "They're good."

"Even Fenton," Dash asked in shock.

"Yeah," I hummed. "I wouldn't want to face him either."

"I thought you guys wanted to ask Phantom something," Sam said, crossing her arms. I struggled to keep from smiling.

"Yeah," Charlie declared. "Would you like to quit their team and become the leader of ours?"

"No," I scoffed. "And what team? You guys don't have a ghost hunting team."

"Yes we do," Katrina said. "It's called Team Raven. We formed it back in April!"

"There is specific rules to ghost hunting," I said. I couldn't be the boss here. I'm just a member. "If you want to start a team, talk to Danny. He's the leader of the Youth Division."

"I think this is nuts," Charlie said, shaking his head. "The Dweebs are Team Phantom! Does that mean they get a boost in popularity?"

"Technically," Dash said, hollowed. "We did form the Team Phantom group and they are the third most popular group."

"What," I asked. I couldn't help but be surprised.

"We're run by classes," Dash replied. "There's the A-List of the School, B-Crowd which is just the remainder of the A-List, C-crew, Nerds and Geeks. I created a new list when I became King, the Dweebs, to fit Danny, Sam and Tucker into one category but it accidently dropped them to the bottom of the barrel, making them political suicide. The only way to boost a class' social status is by petition. We didn't even know who your team was but they got enough signatures to be as popular as the A-List, making them the third most popular group." Dash's voice dropped a few octanes, "I'm afraid if we got any more signatures, they'd be more popular than the A-List!"

"Why did you create a whole class for Team Phantom," I asked in shock. "As you said, you didn't even know who they were?"

"Well, you are the most popular person in the town," Dash said, looking down. "Anyone that gets to hang out with you all the time must be cool."

My glow fluctuated as I blushed, "I'm just your average ghost who tries to do good."

"You're a hero," Dash said. "You save people's lives and you do it without wanting anything in return. How could we compete against that?"

"You don't have to," I said. "The ghost problem in this town is my fault. I'm just trying to clean up my mess. I shouldn't be recognized for the work I do."

"It's not your fault," Paulina said. "You've done nothing but make sacrifices for our town."

"As we have declared," Star said, smiling softly at me, "You are the God of Amity Park while we are your royalties."

"Whoa," I declared. "I don't think so! I don't even like that I'm the King of the Ghost Zone! I certainly ain't no God!"

"You're a King," Mr. Lancer asked.

"That guy who sucked the town into the Ghost Zone was the King of All Ghosts. When I defeated him, I conquered his Kingdom. Unfortunately, his Kingdom is all of the Ghost Zone."

"Cool," Kwan declared. "That's awesome, Dude!"

"I don't like it," I sighed. "But it's my responsibility. It's a completely stupid law if you ask me. I conquered Aargon too but I ain't the ruler of Dora's castle."

"That's because you conquered it in Dora's name," Sam said. "At least that's my theory."

"Any more questions," I asked.

"You really don't want to quit their team and front one of your own," Charlie asked.

I chuckled, "No. I'm happy where I am. I couldn't ask for a better team," I glanced at Sam and Tucker.

"And we couldn't ask for a better ghost," Sam smiled.

"A better friend," Tucker added.

"Agreed," I smiled back to him.

"Well, if your headquarters really can't be left alone, I think I'd like to get Mr. Fenton back here. I don't feel comfortable with him leaving school grounds."

"Don't worry about it," I smiled, "It'd be like he never left."

Sam and Tucker tried to stifle their laughter but I swore I heard someone else laughing. I turned in the direction I heard the additional laughter but I couldn't see anyone else laughing. Oh well. "Well, if that's all, I'll return back to TPHQ and let Danny come back. Oh, and Paulina," I said, turning to her. "Please don't call the number to have one of them to tell me you broke a nail. I'm sure you'll survive."

"I just thought you'd want to know," she said, heartbroken. "They collect the messages anyway."

"I know that," I began. "But we have more important issues. If you're calling about a manicure breakdown, it might prevent an important phone call about an actual ghost from getting through!"

"Okay," she said, looking down. "I'll see you tonight!"

"I doubt it," I said, looking away. Why does she think that I'll visit her every night?

"I'll be waiting," she replied. I flew away.

"Crazy," I sighed as I landed in an empty classroom.

O_O

"You are not dating Phantom," Sam declared, her eyes blazing, when I walked in the room.

"Whoa," I said, running over to aid Tucker. He was holding Sam with all his might but it was a losing battle. I took her in my arms, "What's wrong with her?"

"Paulina said she's dating the ghost boy," Tucker said, rolling his eyes. "Sam went off the deep end."

"Hey, Sam, calm down," I said, pulling her out to look at me. "You know the truth."

"It is the truth," Paulina declared.

"Oh, I'll show you the truth," Sam declared. She nearly ripped out of my arms. I grunted, holding her tighter.

"Sam," I demanded.

"If that hussy thinks that he would ever choose her she's got another thing coming," Sam seethed. "He's not that shallow!"

"You know that," I replied causing the entire class to gasp.

"Romeo and Juliet," Mr. Lancer declared. "You're insulting the Queen?"

"What," I said, turning to Mr. Lancer. "She's not everything I thought she was."

"She's only the most desirable," Tommy declared.

"Well, maybe you guys need to look beyond the surface," I shrugged. "Sure, she's beautiful and she's rich but there's not much else to her. You spend so much time perfecting those two things that you don't make yourself much more." I didn't want to be talking about her without including her. I don't mind speaking my mind in front of her.

"How dare you," Paulina declared. "Who do you think is the most desirable?"

I hummed. "It's hard to say," I replied. "It depends what type you like."

"What type do you like," Paulina asked.

"I have already told you that," I replied. "I had all those girls to choose but the one with the most personality and the one with the most to give was Sam. She didn't conform to meet someone else's likes and she remained true to herself. You can't ask for anything more in a woman."

"Thank you," Sam said, a slight blush on her cheeks.

"But for Kwan, it's different. He likes Star because they are most alike. And it works because never in Amity Park history has there been more of a power couple."

"Thank you," Star smiled. She snuggled into Kwan.

"Who would you date," Annie asked.

"I wouldn't date anyone here right now," I said, careful not to lie but not to tell the truth. "I don't have time for romance. I'm too busy."

"So, does Paulina have a type," Tommy asked.

"Yeah," I replied. "But it doesn't exist. Her standards are too high and she'll grow old before someone like that comes along."

"I have already met him," Paulina sighed, cocking her head to the side.

"It's not Phantom," I replied. "He's as far away from your type as he can possibly be. You two wouldn't make it one day."

"Don't be ridiculous," Paulina snorted. "We've been going strong since we met."

"That's because you're not a couple," I replied. "The first time he needed to go catch a ghost when you two were together, you would fall apart. You're too selfish. There is no one around who would hold their breath so you could breathe the air first."

Paulina scoffed as I took my seat. "Are you trying to make yourself Unclassified," Dash declared.

"I don't care what other people think about me," I retorted. "I've outgrown that shallow notion. There was a time I would kill to be popular. I've had a taste of that life and I've got to say it was bitter. I couldn't ask for a better life than I have right now. Sure, it's a little hectic." Okay, a lot hectic. "But it's my life and I'll live it the way I want to."

"What about you, Sam," Annie asked, narrowing her eyes at her. "What's your type?"

"My type is a guy who doesn't let himself get pushed around, who's strong and independent and who is passionate about what he does."

"Basically Fenton in a nutshell," Chris laughed.

"So what," Sam snorted. "Danny's a great guy. He's my best friend. Do you think I would be friends with these two if they couldn't fit that personality?"

"Tucker is strong and independent," Tommy asked in shock.

"Damn right I am," Tucker declared. "I thought we've proven that to you as many times as we've put someone in their place."

"Well, I know Tucker gets pushed around," Chris declared.

"By you guys," Sam admitted, "but then again, we all do. There's no point in crying over spilt milk." Tucker and I laughed. "But in a ghost fight, he's a take charge kind of guy."

"Especially when it involves technology," I added.

"What is Foley passionate about," Katrina asked.

"Duh," Sam and I declared. Sam turned in her chair, unzipping Tucker's backpack. She removed one of his technologies.

"Hey," Tucker snapped. "Give that back!"

"You want it," Sam teased.

"This is the last time I'm asking," Tucker declared.

"Give it back to him before you two get into it," I said.

"I'm just making a point," Sam said. She gave me a knowing smile, "He hates when I make fun of these old dinosaurs!"

"What," Tucker declared, grabbing the PDA out of Sam's hands. "Gianna is not a dinosaur. She is top notch technology. You won't find a more equipped Blackberry!" Tucker started to talk about its processing and abilities but Sam nodded to Katrina.

"Right," Katrina said softly.

"All right, Tuck," I said. "It's time to stop talking Tecno-Geek."

"Yeah, yeah, yeah," Tucker grumbled. "But don't ever call any of my babe's dinosaurs!"

"How could they be dinosaurs," Sam snorted. "Mr. and Mrs. Fenton built most of your technology. Half of their old technology hasn't even been discovered today!"

"Yep," I smacked my lips together. "My parents are geniuses." I grabbed my backpack. "If we're going to be having hour long classes next year, I might as well show you this." I pulled out the cube, placing it on my desk. I stepped back, expanding it to full size. The room filled with ooh's and awe's. "Anyone hungry?"

I pushed a button, making myself a sandwich. "I'll have some of your Mom's veggie poppers," Sam said.

"Ooh," Tucker cried.

"Coming right up, guys," I smiled. I pushed the buttons, handing them their choices. I picked up the fridge, carrying it up to Mr. Lancer. "May I place this here? You can help yourself."

"How does it work," Mr. Lancer asked as he looked around.

"The food dispensing or the expansion," I asked.

"Both," Mr. Lancer asked.

"Well, the cube is coated in a dehydrating rub. When you touch the button, it releases water molecules that are stored here," I said, pointing to the back. "When I push that button again, it activates the dehydrating operator and it compacts back into a cube. Now, how it dispenses food is unique. It works just like a vacuum seal. It compacts the packaging, not the food. When the unit shrinks, it acts like clothing in a Vacuum-Pack. When you make your selection, it opens the packaging and dispenses it on a plate, in a bowl or in a cup. You can dehydrate the food but then it's not fresh anymore."

"Does it taste good," Dash asked.

"The best," I replied. "Come on up here and make a selection."

"I suggest the veggie-bites," Sam said.

"Except they're vegetables," Tucker said, wrinkling his nose. "I'd suggest the meat-bites."

"It's all good," I laughed. "That's just their preferences."

Everyone got something and sighs filled the classroom. Lester and Nathan started going nuts, declaring how the ice cream was still solid and not melting."

"That's another aspect of its design," I chuckled. "I could explain that to you but I don't totally understand myself. It takes absolutely no electricity."

"Amazing," Mr. Lancer declared. "I can even personalize it."

"Of course," I replied. "Our favorites are already personalized because that's our lunch box but you can order the same thing we usually eat your own way."

"Do you think your parents would allow us to have some for the school," Dash asked. "Because this would be awesome instead of a lunch lady!"

"If you pay for it, she'll sale you as many as you want," I replied. "But she'll only give out so many."

"How much do they cost," Mr. Lancer asked.

"Those cost around one hundred dollars and the full-sized fridges cost around five hundred, about the same thing you'd pay for a normal one. The food comes separate, though."

"I'll definitely be calling your house today," Dash said. "This is amazing!"

"Told ya," I said, biting into my sandwich.

O_O

My second class was with Mr. Fuluka and things weren't so pleasant there. Where it seemed that Mr. Lancer's class went by so fast, Mr. Fuluka's was going by painstakingly slow and it wasn't even halfway through. Just being in the same room with Mr. Fulkuka was horrible but Sam, Tuck and I had him for two subjects. It took the same amount of time, but Mr. Fuluka handed out study guides for the different subjects. With the ghosts usually coming out around ten or eleven o'clock, I got a ghost sense in this class. I stood up.

"Don't tell me you're still going to do that," Mr. Fuluka declared in exasperation.

"I'll probably do this for the remainder of my life," I sighed. I ran out of the room.

"Danny," I heard Sam's panicked voice. I was about to enter into a vacant classroom when I saw Dash, Paulina and Kwan leaving Mr. Fuluka's classroom. "They're coming too!"

"Oh," I said, a little panicked. "Are you guys sure?"

"You don't mind us watching, do you," Charlie said, smugly. He was bringing in the rear.

"As long as you guys stay safe, I don't care," I replied. "But I've got to get going. Sam, do you have a portable shield?"

"Yeah," Sam answered. "We'll take care of it. Go!"

"What is going on," Mr. Fuluka demanded as I took off down the hallway. I had to do this as a human. I rarely did that in school because I never wanted to be caught ghost hunting but now that the cat's out of the bag, there was no harm in it. I would have to do the same thing I do when my parents tag along. I could do this.

Finally, I found the ghost and I smiled. It was Skulker. "How ya doing, Skulker?"

"Whelp," Skulker growled. "I will hang your pelt on my fireplace today!"

"I hear that every day," I groaned.

"Ew," I heard a chorus of students.

"That's the ghost that was shrunk with Phantom and I," Dash said excitedly. "Him! He can validate my story!"

I glanced over my shoulder, seeing the portable shield up. "Okay, now that they're safe, we can begin."

"Why do we have an audience," Skulker asked bored.

"They found out we were Team Phantom," I said, rolling my eyes. "They don't believe I'm any good."

"Well, children, today is your lucky day for I, Skulker, the Ghost Zone's greatest hunter, will have captured the infamous leader of Team Phantom!"

"Have you been talking with Technus," I asked him.

"No," Skulker scoffed. "I just want them to know who I am. I hate the name I've made for myself. I am not Tin Head!"

"Well, you are one to me," I groaned. I pulled my backpack off my back and removed the pencil box. I tossed the bag to the floor, opening the pencil box. I removed a deflector, a bazooka and two fat sticks. I slid the pencil box to my backpack, slipped the bazooka behind my ear and stuck one of the fat sticks in my back pocket. Those were always normal size.

I held the deflector close to me and stuck the fat stick out towards Skulker. Skulker grinned, thinking this to be easy. He really should have learned by now.

Skulker fired the first missile at me and I used the deflector to send it back to him. After it made contact, I charged at him, using the fat stick as an electroshocking attack weapon. While it did nothing to Skulker, the field of the fat stick started to interfere with his suit. I've found this to be far more productive to capture his suit. I only do it once a month now and it's been a month since I've studied his new upgrades. Time for me to send this home to Mom and Tucker.

Skulker's suit started to slow down as the fat stick started its interference. Finally, Skulker stopped moving. He roared.

"You, Skulker, still have not caught me, the infamous leader of Team Phantom," I said snarky. I opened his face, removing his ghost form. "Pleasure fighting with you."

I tossed him in the air, pulling my thermos out of my pocket. Because I had to do it manually unlike how I do it in ghost form or when I'm alone, I gave Skulker time to finish his rant. "I am Skulker, the Ghost Zone's greatest hunter and I will capture you someday!"

"But not today," I said, capping the thermos. I turned back around, "Satisfied?"

"That was awesome," Katrina cried. Sam shut down the portable ghost shield as I picked up my pencil box. "What are these," she asked me.

"They're weapons," I replied. "All Mom and Dad's weapons can be shrunk to compacting size if they're not already compacted." I held up the thermos, "Like this. It's as small as it can get but, believe me, no one would want it to be any tighter in there."

"This is so cool," Katrina declared. "All these are weapons! They fit in a pencil box!"

"Remember the batons," I said. I pulled one out. "This is one."

Katrina took it in her hand and squealed in delight, "That's amazing! I have pencils bigger!"

I removed a Jack-O-Nine-Tail from my backpack. "This doesn't go any smaller," I explained, holding it up. "But it is already compacted." I pushed the button, sending out the shockers.

Sam pulled hers out, "It can also be used to cut through things." She pulled out a notebook, turning on the electroshocking component of the weapon. It went straight through. "It also breaks down ectoplasm."

"That is so cool," Dash declared.

"It's all been invented by my parents. Dad thinks them up and Mom makes them possible."

"Mr. Fenton, this is absolutely unacceptable," Mr. Fuluka demanded. "Students should not be fighting ghosts!"

"I'm not a student when a ghost shows up," I said, placing my weapons back in my pack. "I'm a ghost hunter. I have a job to do. If I don't do it, then I'm failing as a ghost hunter."

"But you're failing as a student," Mr. Fuluka declared.

I shrugged, "That doesn't matter. My boss wouldn't let me fail. I wouldn't mind failing ninth grade if that's what I deserve but Samuels would have the Secretary's head if I didn't pass."

"I imagine he'll have the highest GPA here when he leaves," Tucker said.

"Probably," I groaned. "It's not fair. I should get what I work for."

"You do get what you work for," a voice said. I turned around.

"Samuels," I declared. "What are you doing here?"

"I came by to talk to the Principal," Samuels replied. "I heard some ruckus going on up here and came to check it out. I knew it was you when the Principal said that there is always some kind of mysterious noise."

"What did you come to talk to Principal Ishyama for," I asked.

"I wanted to find out your schedule," he replied. "I need your help, Radar."

"With what," I asked.

"Shouldn't you already know," Samuels gave me a look. "You are my radar."

"You're wanting to start a camp here in Amity Park," I declared. He nodded. I knew I wanted to teach a class about that for some reason. I was tapping into Radar again!

"There's no better place for a camp," Samuels said. "This one will be open to the public twenty-four seven. I need you to help me find a perfect place.

"The coal mines," I replied. "It has enough ground to make a perfect camp and it's close to my headquarters. There is no better place."

"That's why I needed you," Samuels smiled. "Where is that located at and who do I contact to buy it?"

"It's on the border of Tillings Gulch, just west of here," I explained. "And you need to talk to him. Samuels, meet Dash Baxter, the King of the A-List. In this town, there is no higher authority. Dash, meet Samuels. In this world, there is no higher authority."

"Pleased to meet you," Samuels said as he shook Dash's outstretched hand. Dash had stuck it out there when I introduced him but now it was frozen there when he realized I was undermining him.

"Same here," Dash said weakly.

"So, how much do you want for that mine," Samuels asked.

"I don't own it I just know who does," Dash said, snapping out of it. "The coal mine who bought it still owns it but my office is in charge of it."

"All right," Samuels said. "When you get a chance, tell Radar to get in touch with me."

"And Radar is Fenton, right," Dash asked.

I laughed, "Yeah. That's my ghost hunting nickname."

"Well, Radar, I'll be going now," Samuels said. "You need anything?"

"No," I replied. "I only have one more class after this and then we're coming home."

"I know," Samuels replied. "I hope you can stand me, because I'm not leaving."

"I could never get enough of you, Samuels," I chuckled. "You know you're in my top twenty of my favorite people!" What he doesn't know is he's number twelve now. Lilly and Vlad have moved in that list. Sam and Tucker are still ahead of Vlad but Lilly is my number one.

O_O

When fourth period came around, I still had the same group of people. Most of us had the same classes together because the classes weren't separated by subjects. This period was History for us and Mrs. Tetslaff taught it. This class went by without an attack which was highly unusual. When class let out, we started for home deciding that we wouldn't eat lunch. However, just a few meters from the school resulted in my ghost sense going off. Sam and I turned to Tuck.

"The school," Tucker said, looking sheepish.

"Why do I get the feeling I won't be going anywhere after our classes?"

"Because I got that feeling too," Sam said. We took off towards the school.

O_O

We stayed the duration of lunch and put the school zones on high alert when we did leave. Sam, Tuck and I were doing our homework on the kitchen table when the doorbell rang. I stood up, answering the door. Dash was at my door. "Dash," I asked alarmed. "What are you doing here?"

"I told you I'd be talking with your parents," Dash answered. "Are they home?"

"They're in their office," I answered. "Samuels has got an idea and he's driving them nuts. Come on it. Mom would love the distraction."

Dash had a seat beside Sam and started glancing over the work. I walked over to the control panel in the kitchen and paged their office.

"Yes," Mom's voice came over the speaker. Dash jumped.

"Mom, you have business. Could you come down here? This probably incudes Dad too!"

"Your mother is handling it," Dad's voice broadcasted. "I'm not tackling those stairs until I'm done."

"Okay," I said with a smile. The shoot appeared and a few moments later Mom arrived. Dash squealed. "Mom, Dash wants to do business with you."

"What the heck was that," Dash declared.

"You've seen mail shoots and the such in corporations and banks," I explained. "This one does the same thing but it doesn't kill you."

"That's nice to know," Dash said, swallowing hard. "Mrs. Fenton, I would like to purchase from you those refrigerators Danny has."

"What size," Mom asked. "And how many?"

"A lot," Dash said. "I'd like twelve for the cafeteria and one for each classroom so twelve full-size and thirty minis."

"Oh," Mom said slowly. "I don't have that many of either size but I can special order them for you. I have three full sized and five minis as you called them if you'd like some now and wait for the rest or I can have each one specially designed for your preferences."

"How do you special order them," Dash asked.

Mom stood up and went to the weapons vault. She pulled out two of the inventions, one black which was the cube and one white which was the rectangle. She put the cube on the side of the table we weren't using and put the rectangle on the floor. She pushed both buttons, expanding them. "You can order what food is available," Mom explained. "This one has sandwiches, fruits, vegetables, ice cream, eggs, soda, juice… all kinds of things." She pointed to the cube, "But this one would be limited because of its size. No one compartment can accommodate another one," she explained. "Each one is unique. You can't even put ham and turkey in the same slot. It's specially designed."

I pulled out my cube and expanded it. "Take mine for example," I said. "The cube mom has isn't the same as mine. Like Tucker's meal: he has steak, mashed potatoes, gravy and bacon and cheese rolls. Only that meal can go in that setting. If you wanted steak, mashed potatoes, gravy and broccoli, you'd have to special order it that way. You couldn't just push Tucker's meal and add broccoli."

"Okay," Dash said. "So if we want pizza, salad, corn and peaches, like what they serve at school, we could have a button programed as that."

"And it would solve a lot of problems," Sam said. "And time."

"I think I'd rather special order them," Dash said. "Can we do it now?"

"Sure," Mom replied. "Let me get my laptop."

Mom retrieved her laptop and set up the order form. After they were finished ordering the forty-two items, Dash wrote her a check. "Mrs. Fenton," Dash said sweetly, "may I purchase weapons from you?"

"Not without a hunting license," Mom smiled.

"Where do I get one? Wal-Mart? I've not seen them advertise ghost hunting licenses before?"

I laughed. "No, you get it from me. What weapon are you wanting?"

"Jack-o-nine-tails," Dash said, looking down.

"He can have one, Mom," I said. "I've already trained him how to use it."

"Really," Mom asked. "When?"

"Buns of Steel," I said, looking at her. She should know when that was.

"Oh, right," Mom said. "The party."

"Yeah," I groaned. I was hoping she wouldn't remember that. "I trained him and a few others how to use the low-key weapons. Dash took a liking to that one."

"Thirty dollars," Mom said, grabbing one from the weapons vault.

Dash handed her thirty dollars in cash. "Thank you," Dash declared. "Ah-ha, I finally have one! What about a bazooka?"

"Keep walking, Baxter," I said. "You can't have one of those without a license and fifty hours of training or a year at camp."

"Wow," Dash said. "That much, huh."

"He wouldn't even let us carry one around without it," Tucker grumbled.

"Rules are rules," I shrugged. "See you at school tomorrow, Dash."

"See ya and thanks for the fridges," Dash said.

"Thank you for the business," Mom replied. "Be safe." Dash walked out the door. "Why did you teach him how to use the Jack-o-nine-tails?"

"For the tenth time," I groaned, "You guys were kidnaped by a bunch of pirate ghosts and I had to organize the students to rescue you." To get them to understand that was like trying to get blood from a lemon. I had the same problem with Jazz, Sam and Tucker about the Ghost Writer and Easter!

"You mean it really did happen," Mom declared in shock. I looked up at her in surprise. I guess with her knowing about me ghost hunting it's easier for her to believe now. "My baby!"

"What," I asked, confused.

"I didn't believe you because of what Leslie said," Mom said. "Leslie told me that Star had went nuts after that because she had seen you pushed from the pirate ship. She thought you were killed!"

"Star saw me being pushed from the pirate ship," I declared in shock. I looked to Sam and Tucker and they held the same look of worry. "What did she say?"

"Not much," Mom admitted. "We both thought it was the work of our children's overactive imagination."

"I've learned my imagination isn't as crazy as life," I sighed.

"So you were really forced to walk the plank of a flying ghost ship," Mom declared.

"Yeah," I explained. "Youngblood didn't take kindly to me interfering with his plans. He and I still don't get along but he's less likely to mess with me now. Not after what Jazz did to his guardian." I hear that thing is still a talking head after Jazz blew his body into a million pieces. He's not as strong as I am when the same thing happened to me one week ago.

"What did Jazz do to the bird," Tucker asked confused.

"She blew him up," I chuckled. "When we went on that camping trip, he tried to attack me from behind but she used the lipstick to blow him apart."

"I thought she didn't want us to bring any weapons," Mom declared. "Was I the only one who obeyed that rule?"

"No," I said. "I didn't bring any weapons."

"But you were fighting this Youngblood and his guardian-thing," Mom said in confusion.

"Yeah," I said. "I was fighting him to keep him away from your tent. I didn't have much of a choice."

"Yeah, I was surprised to find that tent twenty miles downstream," Mom chuckled. "Your Dad was right when he said we were about to pummel into a roaring white water doom."

"What happened," Sam demanded.

"Youngblood," I explained. "When I was going crazy. It was really Youngblood trying to make me look crazy. It almost worked, too, but I managed to convince Jazz to see things my way."

"I hate how you keep things from us," Sam said, crossing her arms.

"Yeah, and when I tell you things, you don't believe me," I declared. I'd do anything to be believed about what happened through Easter.

"If you are still on that kick about being in a book," Sam declared, "then stop! I don't want to hear it!"

I sighed, "Fine. But it did happen."

"What happened, baby," Mom asked.

"Through Easter we were trapped in a book by a ghost called the Ghost Writer," I explained. "I told you this right after but no one believed me."

"Well, if you say it happened, then I believe you," Mom said, ruffling my hair. "I've got to get back to your father. You can tell me all about it later."

"No need to bore you with details," I smiled. At least someone believes me!

"With untrue details," Tucker rolled his eyes. "We all know Easter is his least favorite holiday. He made that up!"

"I did not," I declared. "That ghost was furious when I blew up his story. He zapped me in a book and forced me to rhyme. Sometimes you guys rhymed too but I did most of the rhyming. Don't you remember what I said?"

"I remember," Mom smiled. "All people are different, this I know. But I took for granted that, so; I've come to respect what makes us unique. And maybe next year, I won't be so bleak," she recited.

"Wow, you're good," I replied. "I was talking about the unique-bleak part! I won't rhyme."

"I just remember that part," Mom smiled. "It was so beautiful."

"Uh, thanks," I said slowly. "I don't have such good memories about that day. Next year, I'm sending him orange a la Duck."

"Why," Mom laughed.

"I defeated him with an orange," I chuckled. "I pushed it in Walker's face," I looked to Sam and Tucker.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah," Sam and Tucker grumbled. I sighed in frustration.

"At least Mom believes me!"

"That's right," Mom said, turning away. "I'll see you later, honey."

"If we've left for patrol when you finish, I'll be back around ten."

"Okay," Mom said. "Be careful!"

"Always," I smiled, returning to my work.

"A rhyming Easter book," Sam scoffed, "Unbelievable!"

"Being sucked into a rhyming Easter book," Tucker laughed.

"Believe what you want," I sighed. "I can't stop you." I continued to work on my homework, dropping the issue. They'd never remember the curse we were put under. The Ghost Writer secured that when he put that fact in actual words.

**AN: Second to last chapter. Tomorrow Dani shows up! Let's hear it for our favorite ghost girl! Reviews?**


	19. Chapter 19

**Disclaimer: I don't own Danny Phantom or Kindred Spirits.**

**Warning: This story contains reference to rape, sexual content, male sex and pedophilia. If any of this disturbs you, please do not read.**

**Chapter 19: Obsolete**

Wednesday began but with school not starting until nine, I had hours to kill. Sam and Tucker came over and we decided to spend the next two and a half hours at headquarters. Once we arrived, I started a fire just for lighting purposes and we crashed on the couch. Last night had been exhausting with homework lasting right up until patrol and patrol going strong all night long.

"How did it go last night," Sam asked from my side.

"Hectic," I sighed. "I stayed out 'til three, remember," I groaned.

"We remember," Tucker said softly from a few inches away. "What kept you out later last night?"

"I guess they thought they had an all-night pass," I groaned. "Anyway, I caught around one-eighty."

"Did you get hurt," Sam asked.

"Nah," I shook my head. "I hit a few buildings but it was all minimal damage."

"Did you get any sleep last night," Tucker asked.

"Yeah," I quipped. "I fell straight to sleep after I called you guys. Did you guys get any sleep?"

"Yeah," Sam said softly. "It was a slow road but I drifted around four."

"About the same," Tucker sighed. "I was worried about you last night. You didn't say much."

"I was exhausted," I sighed. "I haven't stayed out this late since Freakshow."

Sam snuggled into my shoulder, "Why don't you get some sleep? Tuck, set an alarm."

"No," I replied. "You guys can. I'm fine, though."

The fire popped and cracked in the dark room, casting an orange glow. Tucker sunk deeper in the couch, pulling out his PDA. Sam gripped my arm in her arms and snuggled into my shoulder again, her chest rising and falling in my peripheral vision. I rested my head on the back of the couch and listened to their breathing. I don't know if it's just me but I swear I can already detect an increase in the depth of their breaths.

Noises started to erupt from Tucker's PDA, cutting through the noise of their breathing. I closed my eyes, my baby's heartbeat sounding in my ears. I smiled, knowing this was just as musical. I was thirty weeks this week and I had another ten weeks to go. As nervous as delivery made me, I still couldn't wait to hold her in my arms. I would go through with the birth plan Dr. Reynolds and I prepared and everything would turn out all right. Vlad and I will be able to make this work. We had to because I couldn't possibly do this on my own.

O_O

We arrived at school just on time and started first class. Mr. Lancer gave instruction today and not just homework. We took a test to judge our progress from the regular school year and Mr. Lancer taught a new lesson plan. Things followed that pattern for Mr. Fuluka's two classes and Mrs. Tetslaff's one subject. After sticking around for lunch, we went home. Tucker was trying to make the alarm work flawlessly but it wasn't as simple as we had imagined. We had to keep a close eye on the monitor but we didn't discover that until late in the afternoon. Today, we done our homework at HQ so we could put the monitor on the big screen.

And that's how the days were going to play out. Thursday, we had another test and we were told we would start a new lesson plan Monday. Friday was scheduled to be off but Team Phantom works 24/7 and as soon as we celebrate a year, 365 days. I got up early Friday morning to have my monthly exam from Dr. Reynolds. Of course, it was more than just once monthly. I had two once monthly exams. You've got to love her dedication.

"Any strange side effects," Dr. Reynolds replied.

"You mean from not seeing my toes," I sighed. "I don't know how much longer I can keep this hidden. There's only so much a 3X shirt can cover!"

"You can't keep this up for much longer," Dr. Reynolds sighed. "Danny, you are at the end of your seventh month gestational period. You have kept this hidden long enough. It's time for you to come clean to your family and friends. What are you going to do, keep her hidden up until she's twenty?"

"Of course not," I sighed. "I'm just waiting for the right time."

"When does this right time happen," Dr. Reynolds asked. "When you're going under the knife?"

"I have another ten weeks," I sighed. "I can do this."

"You don't understand," she declared. She pulled on her gloves despite her aggravation and started to feel my abdomen. "Everything feels normal. Okay, kick your shoes off."

I sighed but removed my shoes and socks. She started to check my feet but found nothing wrong there either. I took a calming breath, "What should I expect from the C-section?"

"When we decide that it's better to take the baby than risk vaginal delivery, we will put you under anesthesia. After the anesthesia takes effect, we'll make the cut and open you up. With your rapid healing and detoxing ability, we'll have to make certain adjustments. Not to worry, though, we will keep you comfortable and Lilly safe. Once Lilly is extracted, we'll clean her up and hand her to you. She shouldn't need any unusual medical care but in the case that she does, we will have the best available to her."

"Are you discussing when would be a good time to take her," I asked.

"Not yet," she replied. "Because of your slow progress, Lilly isn't quite as developed as she should be. She's underweight and that does concern us. We will try to keep Lilly in your uterus for as long as possible. If you do go into premature labor again, we will start the procedures the same as last time. We will keep her in your uterus for at least another ten weeks. We won't be able to push it much beyond that but we'd like to get her to the regular development stage for her age."

"Okay," I sighed. Dr. Reynolds went through the same procedures as she did at week 27. I haven't had an exam since the incident with Freakshow because my last one was the Friday before school let out. Of course, Dr. Reynolds had no idea about Freakshow and I intended to keep it that way. Finally, she gave me a clean bill of health and I went home to meet up with my friends.

O_O

I kept going over the pros and cons of telling Sam and Tucker about Lilly during patrol. According to my dream, Sam and Tucker know about the real possibility of male ghosts becoming pregnant but they're not certain if it's possible for a half human to do so. I want them to be a part of Lilly's life and they will be but I don't know how to explain how she got here. If I tell them I'm pregnant and they're a part of the birth, they'll know she's Vlad's. If Vlad and I get together again for which I'm hoping, then the risk increases. I don't want the results of my dream to occur. Then if I wait for Lilly to be born to include them, what do I tell them?

It's so frustrating. I know what I want but I don't know what I want to do to achieve it. I can't lock my friends out of my daughter's life. They must be an active part in her life but if I can't get them to understand about Vlad, then how can they know the truth? If I do tell them about Vlad, I have no way of knowing how they will react. I think the only guarantee I have is they won't be happy. Vlad is Lilly's father and he must be a part of her life. If I have to choose between Lilly's father or Lilly's uncle and aunt, how could I make that decision?

Then there's my parents and Jazz. They have a right to be a part of her life but how can I include them without telling Mom and Dad I'm half ghost? If I do neglect them of the knowledge, I am keeping a part of Lilly from her life. According to my dream of Lilly, Mom, Dad, Grandma and Grandpa Simmons and even Grandma Fenton was a part of her life. Was that something I did gradual or did I pop it on them in the last two months of my pregnancy.

I groaned aloud as I walked beside Sam and Tucker. Their eyes darted in my direction, curiosity, worry and fear crossing them. Before they had a chance to ask, I replied: "I'm fine."

"What's wrong," Sam asked.

"I don't know how to solve a problem and time is running out," I groaned.

"Care to elaborate," Tucker asked.

"I have something that I need to tell you guys but I'm conflicted when to do it and when I did it in my dreams," I replied.

"Us," Sam said surprised. "Well, shoot, Danny, come out with it."

"I'd rather not," I sighed. "I don't know how you're going to react."

"You have no way of knowing until you tell," Tucker replied.

I hummed, "How much did you guys learn about the sexual reproductive system of a ghost?"

Sam and Tucker snapped in my direction. "How did you," Sam began to ask.

"I dreamed of it," I sighed. "Not of you guys reading but of a conversation that was supposed to take place last Sunday."

"Okay," Sam said slowly. "Is that normal?"

"Getting an answer to a question in my dream," I said in confusion. "All the time. That's what the power is for. 'Wondering minds' comes to mind."

"Well, what happened in your dream," Tucker asked.

"I told you guys, I came clean to Mom, Dad and Samuels, everything was going great until I realized that I was being tricked and I ended up spending the next seven years of my life cut off from you guys until I died."

"I really hate how often you die in your dreams," Sam grumbled.

"How did you die," Tucker declared.

"Basically, over exhaustion," I replied. "But I didn't like the outcome. I called off telling everyone but that hasn't solved my problem. I can't keep putting this off!"

"Then don't," Sam declared. "Tell us!"

"It's not that simple," I groaned as I continued to walk along the sidewalk. "There are a lot of serious implications that could cause big problems. I just wished there was a simple solution!"

"Danny," Sam and Tucker chided me.

"Oh, right," I said. "It slipped by the radar.

"It's okay," Sam sighed. "It happens all the time. Is there anything we can do to make this easier on you?"

"Not that I can think of," I groaned. "I guess I'll keep going over the pros and cons and decide within the next few months."

Sam swallowed hard, "I just have this horrible feeling."

"Don't worry," I groaned. "You get used to it." I sensed another ghost and left it at that. I don't want to go back to that conversation again.

O_O

Around seven, Sam and Tucker started periodically checking their watches. I groaned as I realized they knew today was a new episode. I so did not want to watch my life simplified. However, Sam and Tucker enjoy learning something about what happened and I have to say I enjoy learning things that I didn't know about. Ten til eight, Sam and Tucker clasped their hands together.

"I'm guessing you guys want to go to H Q," I sighed.

"You know it," Sam said. "It's time for Danny Phantom!"

"I thought you didn't like cartoons," I teased her.

"For this show, I'll make the exception," Sam smiled back.

"I'm afraid a lot of people would make that exception if they knew about it," I said softly. "Well, let's get this over with."

O_O

We arrived at TPHQ and got comfortable. When the show began, it had a close-up of Sam. She was trying to get our attention about something, utterly annoyed.

"Isn't it everything I said it was and more," David Kaufman said as me.

"You did not lie, dude. You did not lie," Rickey D'Shon Collins remarked.

"What," Tucker declared. "I'm the one who showed you the Hummer!"

"Sometimes they mess things up," I said softly. Our character's actors went on to say 'The Ginormo 3000' in unison while Sam came over to inspect the truck. We three were snickering at how utterly stupid this was being. Owl feathers? Amazon Rain Forest wood? Come on. No one's that stupid. That thing wouldn't be legal all less have as many on the lot as they were showing.

"I know what you could do," Grey DeLeslie said as Sam. "You could totally haunt this place! Scare people away!"

My character denied Sam something, looking bored as the real Sam recoiled. "What," Sam declared. He went on to tell Sam that he was the good guy and that he couldn't do anything. "I would never ask you to abuse your powers like that," Sam denied. The real issue was what my character said. Good guy? I would never call myself that. Especially back then when I was unsure if I was the good guy or just trying to clean up my messes. I'm still not one-hundred percent sure now.

"It's just their interpretation," I sighed. "Don't be offensive about it."

"It wouldn't be the first time one of your bright ideas got Danny in trouble," Tucker's character declared. The scene blurred out, Sam saying 'smile.' Sam, Tuck and I, holding a HAZMAT suit in my hand, were in the lab. My character told Sam that the portal wasn't working and I realized that this was their interpretation of the portal accident.

"Oh, no," I said softly.

"Why are you holding the HAZMAT suit," Sam asked, curious. "You put it on in the changing room."

"Like I said, it's their interpretation," I replied watching as Sam convinced the cartoon version of me to go inside the portal.

"That's ridiculous," Tucker declared. "You would never step foot in that thing!"

"Especially after the conversation Brit and I had," I replied as I watched my cartoon character put his hand on the button. All three of us scoffed as the accident took a manner of seconds. "I wished it was that simple!"

Sam rolled her eyes, "That's stupid. Do they honestly believe turning someone half ghost could be as simple as a few seconds inside that portal."

"It's a cartoon," I sighed. "They can't go into the gruesome details."

"How was it bad that I was there," Sam's cartoon character scoffed. "If it weren't for me, he'd be flying around with his Dad's face on his chest."

"That's true," I smiled at Sam.

"I just wish someone would destroy these stupid trucks," Sam's character declared.

I laughed, "See, even you do it!"

"About time she made a wish," a female voice said as the picture showed a green face with red eyes. "So she has wished it, so it shall be." Desiree appeared.

"Oh, my God," Tucker declared.

"Is that Desiree," Sam declared. "Was she there even then?"

"Yep," I said, smacking my lips. "I guess. It could just be their way of explaining the ghost cow." Though I think they're right. It didn't make sense how a ghost would be plastic. This did explain some things.

My character demanded that the cow stay away from the trucks instead of telling it to 'follow me' and Tucker was standing beside of me when the cow spewed it's milk. Tucker did declare that he was becoming lactose intolerant though like he did in reality. That's when I knew Tucker had been hit too. I would never keep a ghost around them. I've always tried to protect them but back then, I was a bit more overprotective. I was borderline obsessive.

The theme song came on and I covered my face. I hate this stupid thing. The only solace I get is that it's friendly with the kids. But 'he's going to catch them all because he's Danny Phantom' just drives me up the walls. Sam and Tucker were snickering through the theme song up until the part where I push Dash into the locker. Sam turned serious while Tucker chortled. I chuckled at their reactions but I was still hiding my face as I prepared for it to start. Finally that horrible repetition started causing Sam and Tucker to stare in shock and horror.

"He's going to catch them all," Sam said in surprise.

"I know, right," I groaned. "It's like Pokemon or something. It's ridiculous. I in fact do not catch them all!"

"Oh, well," Tucker sighed. "It's got a nice beat to it but completely ridiculous."

"It's a theme song to a cartoon," I groaned. "It's not supposed to make sense."

O_O

When the show returned, we watched it noting the inaccuracies and the things that surprised us. We did find it surprising that the monsters that kept attacking Paulina was from the movie. Sam got mad that Desiree had cheated but we had to remind her that Desiree plays by her own rules. I rolled my eyes just before the commercial break when it showed me spiraling out of control.

"That did not happen," I retorted. "I just kind of went to sleep if you like. I didn't remember anything until I got the flush of memories come through. There was no screaming. Just a 'oh, no'."

"What about that scene in the water fountain," Tucker asked. "That didn't seem right."

I hummed, thinking it over. "We did get into a fight but there was snow in the fountain. Is that what you're talking about?"

"No," Tucker retorted. "I don't care that they got the seasons messed up. It's rare that a cartoon makes seasons unless it's related to the show."

"True," I commented. "I can't remember. Sam."

"I think you said something else," Sam said, thinking it over. "What did he say?"

"He mentioned the Lunch Lady, Skulker and Technus," Tucker said. "Technus wasn't Sam's fault. That doesn't make sense."

"That's because that's not what I said," I retorted.

"You blamed me for the frogs… which sorta was my fault," Sam replied.

"Right," I said. "I shouldn't have blamed you but I didn't blame you for Technus. At least I didn't screw up that bad."

"Why were you two fighting," Tucker asked. "I'm confused."

"I was an idiot," I replied. "I tend to snap at people when pressure builds. Sam was the only one there so she got the blunt end of it."

"It's no big deal," Sam said. "I shouldn't have said what I said."

"You didn't, remember," I smiled. "I granted your wish of it never happening."

"Yeah," Tucker grumbled. "I still can't believe you would push your best pal away for a girl in a pink skirt."

I chuckled, "Sorry, Tuck."

"If you two would have gotten together through that, I would have killed you," Tucker said, crossing his arms. "Ten years of friendship pushed aside for a pretty girl! Unbelievable!"

"What can I say," I smiled. "I've always been a sucker for the ladies."

Sam blushed, "Oh, stop."

We watched the remainder of the commercials and watched the remainder of the show. When my cartoon character's memory came back, I floated out of Sam and Tucker's smacks, covering my head. Sam and Tucker started to hit me repeatedly.

"You little pervert," Sam declared. "You can't talk your way out of this. You did that!"

"And you didn't invite me," Tucker retorted.

"I'm sorry," I said, covering my head. "I was curious and you've been there, too, Tucker!"

"I barely remember it," Tucker declared.

"What are you two talking about," Sam asked.

"Nothing," I replied. "I'm sorry. I should have never peeked in the girls locker room. That was wrong."

"Your darn right it's wrong," Sam declared. "That's disgusting!"

"Did you do something to my costume," my character asked.

"No," Sam's character said sweetly. "It's always been that way."

"Yeah, right," Sam groaned. "You didn't ask if I did anything to your suit. You accused me of doing it."

"I was right there when you made the wish," I said, smirking. "If you wanted me to not know about it, you shouldn't have wished for us to remember everything!"

"Don't remind me," Sam said, crossing her arms. "But it has always been that way. We just remember an alternate timeline."

"I know," I smiled. I understood alternate timelines perfectly. "It didn't alter the past, it just brought that other timeline to this one." The Adkins hooligans were furious that I missed the episode of when Kitty overshadowed Paulina because of that incident and Vlad was furious that I didn't call for two days. I had to tell every one of them that I didn't know any of them. Without a ghost boy, there was no show and with no show, Star's sisters had no reason to seek me out. Dan never told them about seeing me in the Nasty Burger that day.

We finished watching the episode, laughing at all the extras behind us in the theater. Paulina did invite everyone to that birthday party and we three were the only ones in ninth grade who didn't attend. There was certainly no one in that movie theater. We had the thing to ourselves.

"Ashley definitely wouldn't be there," Sam chuckled. "Could you imagine the sixth in command not being at Paulina's side?"

"Ashley," I asked, confused. "Where did you see her?"

"The girl in the pink tank top and the bushy hair," Sam said. "Didn't you recognize the kids?"

"He draws the real students in the background," I declared. I had never noticed.

"I guess," Sam said. "It looks too much like Ashley for it not to be her."

"I'll have to pay attention the next time," I replied. "I never paid attention to the background."

"Well, that's it," Tucker sighed. "Let's go back on patrol."

"Finally," I sighed. "Chaos I can control!"

O_O

Saturday went by like always until late night patrol. The ghosts started becoming scarce around midnight and I knew Vlad was on his way. I guess with Invincible gone now, Vlad's the new big bad. I'm too much fun for me to have that kind of reaction. Finally, Vlad appeared on the top of a hill.

"Daniel," Vlad breathed. I took a calming breath as well, trying to stop myself from melting in his presence. "I was wondering if we could talk."

"What do you need, Vlad," I whispered. It was so difficult to be so close to him. We were within touching distances but I had to keep my urges in check. Giving into those desires just causes more problems than pleasures.

"Come home with me," Vlad said softly. He moved in to me, touching my arm. I gazed into his eyes, feeling the pressure against my shoulder. "Just for tonight. You and I."

"Vlad," I said, forgetting what I was going to say. No! "This is a bad—," I trailed off again. Vlad leaned in to me and I met him half way. I wrapped my arms around his neck, feeling his skin beneath mine. I deepened the kiss, Vlad's hands dropping to my waist.

_Can we go home_, Vlad asked.

Yes, I replied. Something inside me was trying to tell me something but I couldn't hear it. I just wanted to be with him.

Vlad teleported out with me and we appeared in our bedroom in Elemerton. I climbed on top of him, straddling my legs over his waist. Vlad's hands slid down to my hips, gripping them tightly. I moaned, closing my eyes as I gave in to the desire and the passion. Vlad phased through me, turning around and gently laying me on my stomach. I came to my knees, moaning as his lips went to my neck. Vlad's right hand was on the bed while his left held onto my hip. I used my powers to keep myself elevated as I gripped his hands in mine. Vlad's lips moved more to the back of my neck as I felt him climb on top of me. I prepared to consummate our love one more time. I was more than ready for our time of passion.

O_O

I rolled over, still in my ghost form, at two o'clock. Vlad laid beside me, sleeping peacefully as Plasmius. I touched his hand as I climbed out of bed. I summoned my cell phone to me, dialing Sam's number.

"Hey, Danny," Sam said, unaware that I wasn't home.

"Hey," I replied. "I'm going to sleep. You guys do the same."

"Okay," Sam said softly. "We'll see you in the morning, right?"

"Get some extra sleep," I said. "I'll pick you guys up around ten."

"Are you sure," Sam asked.

"I'm positive," I replied. I glanced at Vlad, "I have some things I want to do."

"All right," Sam said, a little hesitant. "See you tomorrow."

"Goodnight," I replied.

"Night," Sam bid farewell. We hung up.

I went back to the bed, climbing in. I laid my head on Vlad's chest, him wrapping an arm around my shoulders protectively. "Are you okay," Vlad asked.

"Never better," I moaned, snuggling into him. It was hardest to connect with him like this but I still could do it. It was easier for me to get around in my ghost form than it was for me in my human form and that's why we made love in ghost form. I still looked slim in Phantom form though I should be bigger in this form. The reason I'm not sure but I'm also not concerned. I'm satisfied with that result the same way I'm satisfied with what happened tonight.

O_O

When morning came, Vlad got up to make breakfast while I was getting dressed. Vlad had some specialty clothes made for me, turning male clothes into maternity wear. When Vlad walked in with the tray, I was trying on the stripped maternity T-shirt. I ran my hand over my stomach and chuckled as I heard Vlad cross the threshold. "You look beautiful, Momma."

"Thanks," I said, turning around. "But I'm a Daddy."

"You'll always be my girl," Vlad said, placing the food on the bed. He walked over to me, placing his hand on my stomach. "My girls."

"I'm sorry I ever thought I needed to be separated from you," I said softly. "Last night was really amazing."

"It was, wasn't it," Vlad said softly. He met my lips with his, kissing me gently. He broke the kiss, "You ready for breakfast?"

"Yeah," I said softly. I wasn't hungry but I never was. I walked over to the bed, Vlad sitting down in front of the tray. He picked up a quartered apple, snapping it in a smaller size with his bare hands. He gently fed it to me. "You know a way to a guy's heart."

"Through his pregnant stomach," Vlad chuckled. I cut a piece of the egg, slipping it in his mouth. "I'm not pregnant," Vlad declared.

"But it's the same way to any man's heart," I said. I leaned in, kissing him. Vlad cut a piece of my egg, slipping it in my mouth. All the flavors danced on my tongue. "I've really missed you, Vlad."

"I've missed you too," Vlad said softly.

"I'll never do that to you again," I said softly. "I promise."

"And I'll never put you or Lilly in danger again," Vlad said softly. "I promise."

O_O

Sam, Tuck and I hung out until that evening but when Vlad came by that night, I had to turn him down. Instead of fleeing back to the Ghost Zone, the ghosts just scattered to other parts of the town. I guess Vlad doesn't have the same result as Invincible. Vlad wasn't happy about me running after the ghosts but he seemed to go with little protest.

Monday returned and we went to school like usual. The teachers loaded us down with homework today and we spent up until two trying to complete it. While Sam and I went over what we did get complete, Tucker decided to work on the radar. As Sam was showing me what I did wrong on my math homework, an alarm started going off on Tucker's PDA. "What in the world," I screamed.

"Sorry," Tucker declared. "I'll turn it down. I got it working, though."

"What was that," I asked, the ringing in my ears still present.

"I think I've perfected the alarm on the ghost radar," Tucker said. "Let me see," he hummed. "Okay, there's a ghost on Jefferson street. Select that and activate that." Tucker wasn't really saying this for our benefit, he was just working. The alarm started to go off again, this time softer, with Tucker crying out in celebration. "It works!"

"You said there's a ghost on Jefferson," I asked.

"Yeah," Tucker replied.

"I'll be back," I groaned. I transformed and flew off. Within two minutes, I returned with my newest prisoners. "That was simple," I declared. I looked around the room to find that Sam and Tucker had extinguished the fire and packed up our belongings. "What's going on?"

"We're going to hang out tonight," Tucker declared triumphantly. "Sam and I decided that when I finished the radar, we would spend the evening doing normal-friend stuff, not ghost hunting. We still got some stuff to do so we'll go home and meet up at the golf course in one hour."

"Okay," I said slowly. I grabbed my bag off the table while Sam and Tucker grabbed theirs. I took their hands, returning them to their houses. I guess I knew what was going on. Since Tucker perfected the radar, we didn't need to spend our days walking around town anymore. We could spend more time having fun and allow the radar to do the 'patrolling.' I ran up the stairs, dropping my bag against my door. There was nothing for me to do so I lay down on my bed.

O_O

I sat up, looking to my clock in a panic. It was five o'clock! "Crap," I declared. "I can't believe I fell asleep!" I ran out the door, saying goodbye to my parents and Samuels in a hurry and running into my alley. I transformed and flew to the golf course.

Sam and Tucker were already on the eighteenth hole but that didn't mean I had to miss out on the fun. "If I make this shot, I'm the winner," Tucker teased. I smiled mischievously, phasing through the ground in my human form. Time for Operation: Mess with Tucker. Tucker lined up his putt and took a swing at the ball. I turned it intangible. Tucker gasped.

"That's one," Sam said smugly. Tucker swung again but I turned it intangible again. "That's two!" Tucker swung again, this time with force but it didn't matter. The ball had no solid mass to be hit and I held it parallel with the grass. "And three!"

Tucker groaned, bending down. I smiled, popping up with the ball in my hand: "Boo!"

Tucker shrilled.

"Danny," both declared.

"You were supposed to be here an hour ago," Sam declared in an aggravated tone.

"I know," I said, putting my hands on my side as the ball dropped to the ground. "But you'll be happy to know that the Ghost King won't be—," I began. I opened my eyes to see them looking at me unimpressed. I guess I'm too predictable. "Okay, I fell asleep."

Tucker groaned, "Danny, this is getting ridiculous! You've been treating us more like sidekicks than friends and we're getting sick of it."

"I'm doing the best I can," I defended.

"Yeah, well you got in a lot of trouble yesterday and we took the heat of it," Sam said, crossing her arms.

"Oh, yeah," I declared. "Name one time!"

"Do you remember Skulker around eight last night," Sam declared. "He fired the missile at us and you took off leaving us there to take the hit."

"I didn't know you were behind me," I defended. "I told you guys to stay put!"

"What about Cujo," Tucker declared. "Mom was coming down the stairs around three and we were trying to squeeze his big butt in the portal before she arrived. He turned around and licked us but you were intangible and safe!"

"That was my fault," I said, looking down. "I forgot to grab your hands. I'm sorry. But that's it!"

"Oh, yeah," they declared.

"Lunch Lady," Tucker declared.

"You flew away and left us to be covered in meat," Sam declared. "I really hated that!"

"Okay, okay," I said, holding up my hands. "Maybe I have been a little neglecting but I'll start to be more considerate," I replied. I heard a scream and turned in the direction. "What in the world?"

Tucker pulled out his PDA, "I don't know. I don't see anything."

"I'm going to check it out," I said.

"Danny," Sam screamed as I took to the air and transformed. I turned in her direction. "You'll be more considerate, remember." She forced her arms up.

"Tomorrow," I declared. "You guys stay here!"

Tucker groaned as I flew down the hill towards the middle of the holes. Several people were running and screaming. I saw something white zooming towards a kid on the ground. I smacked the ghost before it could reach the younger boy. It smashed into the mini golf prop. Great, another strange ghost. I landed on the ground in front of him. He was under a sheet.

"Come on," I retorted. "A bed sheet?" I grabbed the sheet, flipping it off of him. "What have you got under there?" I really wished I hadn't when the sight barraged me. He was gruesome. Ligaments, muscle and all things gross met me. He was even juicy. I gasped in shock.

The ghost attacked me, knocking me to the ground. Wait! He can hit real world items and me in my ghost form! "Change back," he moaned.

"What," I declared. "Get off me!" I kicked him away from me and had no trouble hitting him. This is really strange. They're usually one or the other… not both! I powered up a blast, sending it out. The thing deteriorated away, dissolving before my eyes. I blinked in surprise. That was a strange way for him to go back to the Ghost Zone. I looked around, "Gotta get out of here before I get blamed for this." I have enough trouble with hitting buildings as it was. That ghost was supposed to absorb that blast, not deteriorate away.

I flew back to where I left Sam and Tucker but they were gone. Shrugging, I decided to head home. Maybe they fled there. Halfway there, my phone rang.

"Team Phantom, how may I help you," I answered.

"You could help us by coming back," Sam's voice retorted.

"Coming back," I asked, confused. "Where are you guys?"

"Cleaning up your mess," Sam retorted.

"Again," Tucker added in an equally aggravated tone.

Oh, no. "I'm sorry, guys. I didn't want to be there when the adults showed up and I thought you already left. How did you get stuck with it?"

"We followed you," Sam declared.

"I told you not to," I cried. Groaning, I added, "Oh, well." I phased through the roof, landing in my room. I triggered my rings, "I guess I'll be there in a little while." I looked to my bed but was taken aback. A young girl sat on my bed, reading my comic. "Can I help you?"

"Yes," Sam declared. I winced, pulling it away from my ear.

"Not you," I declared.

"Not so loud," the girl said.

"I've got to go," I said towards the phone.

"Of course you do," Sam groaned as I disconnected the line.

"Who are you," I asked, "and what are you doing in my room?"

"I'm Danielle," she replied, looking wide-eyed at me, "your third cousin twice removed. I ran away from home. Hey, do you have any food?"

"Sure," I said a little slowly. I picked up my backpack, retrieving the cube. I placed it on my bed, expanding it. "Help yourself."

"Oh, hooray," she declared in excitement. The girl ate like I did before my portal accident.

O_O

She finally appeared to be done eating when her eyes started to wonder. "You want to be an astronaut," she cried, surprised. I kept my expression vacant. I used to. "Did you know they only select two hundred—."

"Two hundred applicants every two years." I replied as she continued to say the same thing. "Yeah, I knew that. How did you?"

She picked up the top CD on my night table. "Dumpty Humpty. Those guys rock!"

Why is she stalling? "Had enough to eat," I asked, wondering if anything in the cube was left. She nodded her head happily. "Good," I said, "cause now it's time to tell my parents."

"What," Danielle cried. I grabbed her hand, dragging her to the door. "No!"

"Look, you said you're my cousin and maybe you are but we still need to call your parents," I explained as I dragged her down the hallway. I'm not completely following but I'm not stupid. This is the girl who becomes my sister. I'm just uncertain about one thing…

"I said no," she declared. I was surprised as I lost her hand and she ran back to my room.

"Hey, get back here," I declared, running after her. I looked around my room, it empty. "Wow, she's fast," I said in shock. I transformed, floating through my wall. If she is a half-ghost too, that means she's really fast. "Where did she go? She couldn't have gotten far." Before I had a chance to begin looking, I heard a furious battle yell coming from above me. I looked up in surprise to see a small dot in the sky. "Oh, swell, another ghost. What's this one going to be? A spooky bat on a string!" However, the small dot continued to get bigger until it dwarfed me in size and crashed into me. I slammed into a car, the monster busting it into a million pieces.

"Whoa," I cried, rolling out of the car. "You look like I do on a bad day but I'm going to make you look worse!" I shot a blast at him but he swatted it away. I think this guy deserves bigger hardware. I took a breath.

He clasped his hand on my mouth, preventing me from sucking in anymore air. I stared at him in shock. No one has ever stopped my ghostly wail before.

"Let him go," I heard a female voice. I turned my head to stare in shock at the young girl that was in my room.

"Get out of here," I screamed, muffled. I know nothing about this girl. She may have ghost powers or she could be like me… a product of a portal accident. Seems there are no shortage of those around my parents.

"Forget it," she declared, her attitude hardcore. "I know who you are and I'm not leaving now!" A flash of light exploded from around her and I watched in horror as she changed from a blue hoodie, red shorts, blue sneakers and black hair into a black costume eerily similar to mine, white hair and a ghost! I guess she's not completely like me. She sent out a blast, knocking him away from me. That now leaves the question of how she got powers in the first place. I floated over to her.

"How," I began to ask. A roar came out and I turned back in the direction of the ghost.

"Do you want to ask questions or kick butt," she asked. My kind of girl!

We both powered up a blast, sending it in his direction before he could approach us. The shot went straight through him and he dissolved away into a green goo.

"This night keeps getting weirder and weirder," I said, turning to her. "And I still have a lot of questions! My parents—." She started to sway, her energy faltering. I caught her as she collapsed in my arms. "I guess those questions will have to wait until tomorrow."

I picked her up in my arms, flying her into the ops center. I put her in one of the beds, tucking her in. She was so young. Too young to be facing life as a halfa. I lifted through the air, flying to the golf course. I did promise Sam and Tucker I would return.

O_O

Sam and Tucker were gone when I arrived so I went back home. I checked on Danielle and she was sleeping peacefully in her human form again. I returned to my room, calling Sam and Tucker. I wasn't surprised when they didn't want to talk to me. I guess I wouldn't want to either. I went on my late night patrol and was surprised when Vlad didn't visit me. I guess he got the message last night.

When morning came, I gathered up breakfast before making my own and went up to the ops center. "Danielle," I called as I walked into the room. She wasn't there. "Where did she go now?" I sat down and ate the food I had brought her. I did bring everything that was my favorite after all. She seemed to have the same taste I used to have.

I went to school but Sam and Tucker were more focused on school than goofing off like usual. I decided to take their lead, focusing on my work. However, I started talking to them at lunch as we waited for anything interesting to happen. They didn't seem too interested in what I had to say if they heard a word of it to begin with.

"Are you guys all right," I asked, noticing the drained looks. They weren't bored, they were exhausted.

"We cleaned up an entire golf course yesterday," Tucker retorted. "How do you think we feel?"

"And you couldn't take a minute to show up," Sam snorted.

"I'm sorry," I declared. "I was dealing with a super powered cousin I didn't even know I had!"

"Broken record," Tucker said. Sam also turned away from me.

I sighed, trying to find a way to make this up to them when the contents of our lunch spilled over onto Sam and Tucker. "Boo," Danielle popped up.

"And this must be her," Sam said. I sighed. This isn't helping things.

I stood up, motioning my finger towards her. She phased out of the table, powering back down to a human and followed me. "You can't be using your powers like that in public!"

"Oh, come on," she said, "It was funny!" She turned in the direction of some nerds and Dash was pestering them. At least he isn't bothering us as much since they found out the truth. Now, we're ignored more than hand selected. "Maybe it'd be funnier if it were that guy?"

"Wow," I said, smiling. "You like NASA and you already dislike Dash. Maybe we are related! Now, do you mind telling me how you got those ghost powers to begin with?"

A scream interrupted me. Not again! I turned to see the kids scrambling out of the cafeteria. I couldn't see a ghost until it was right upon me. No, now is the spooky bat on a string… or a firefly. This scared them? Come on.

"Shall we," she asked me mischievously.

"I still have questions," I pointed out. She isn't getting off the hook that easy.

"Let's catch that thing," Danielle said, looking at me in anticipation, "and you'll learn everything!"

I took off, Danielle following behind me. I had to keep that thing in my sights. My ghost sense was screwing up for some reason and I couldn't track it any other way. We transformed, following it. After about a minute chase, Danielle taunted me: "Race ya?"

Race me, I chuckled. I'm the fastest there is. "You're on," I declared. She gained a little ground but I quickly surpassed her. I told you I'm the fastest. I looked behind me to see if I could see her, giving up on finding the firefly. "No sign of her," I celebrated. "I am totally winning."

"Are you now," a voice declared. I snapped back in the direction I was flying to see Vlad quickly approaching me. I slammed on the brakes, realizing I was the one approaching him.

"Vlad," I declared in surprise.

"Of course, fool," Vlad declared. "Who else?"

I can't stand this Dr. Jekyll, Mr. Hyde stuff! Vlad hit me with a blast, sending me crashing into the ground. I came to my feet as Vlad landed in front of me. "What, no snide remarks about my Dad or hitting on my Mom?" I asked. He hasn't been this bad since he put that bounty on me.

"No, my boy," Vlad said. "I don't have time for that." Vlad powered up an energy blast and I was quick to form one of my own. They met but Vlad's was overpowering mine quickly. I was tiring quickly when I saw Danielle land beside me. Normally, I wouldn't ask for anyone to get in-between Vlad and I but today is different. Vlad is different.

"Help me," I declared. "Do something!"

"Oh, I am," Danielle said. I felt a sharp pain cut in my back and my blast failed. Vlad's blast dissipated before it hit me as I came to my knees.

"I-I don't understand," I said. I was so confused. Danielle turned against me. Vlad's become loco again. I collapsed to my hands as my energy took a nose dive. I was solely relying on my normal energy and it is usually spent on supporting my pregnancy.

"Did I do good, Daddy," Danielle asked.

"You did wonderful, child," Vlad replied. "I could not ask for a better daughter."

I collapsed, all going black.

O_O

I opened my eyes slowly, seeing the lab in Colorado. Great. Well, it could be worse. I could be on the island. I gasped when I realized the black, blue and white blur was Vlad. I saw a flash of light and turned in that direction. A television screen was rolling clips of me.

"You've been spying on me," I demanded. "Okay, I've said it before and I'll say it again. You really are one seriously crazed up froot loop."

"A froot loop would never think to use a string of invisible burglaries to make his first million. A froot loop would never be smart enough to overshadow the world's millionaires to form wagers. I am not a froot loop," Vlad declared. Sure you're not. "And I'm not a villain. All I ever wanted was love." He pushed a button, revealing something in a capsule. I hadn't noticed it until now but I couldn't believe what I was seeing. "The good clone still needs time before he'll be able to accept your DNA."

"Those ghosts," I demanded. "They were clones!"

"Yes," he hung his head. I gasped as the firefly appeared right before me. "And I would watch a thousand others dissolve into ectoplasm to get the perfect half-ghost boy!" The tiny me lost an eyeball during his rant and I found it surprising how difficult it was for me to watch.

"Yeah," I said, "nothing loopy about that." I swallowed the bile.

"Do you think you're getting out of this," Vlad asked. He snapped his fingers and the firefly flew into my forehead. "You're in this for duration—," he smirked.

"Get out of me," I screamed as I realized it was trying to take over me.

"And then you'll become obsolete," Vlad spoke harshly. My world came crashing around me.

O_O

I opened my eyes to see I was no longer in the black box of doom but in a capsule like the clone. I was struggling to gain control over my body from the ghost but even if I did regain control, I wouldn't be able to bust out of these restraints. I looked up to see Vlad floating in plain sight. I stuffed the feeling of betrayal and hurt to focus on freeing myself. The first sharp pain entered me but I couldn't see what it was supposed to do.

I felt my power of transformation trigger and I screamed, struggling to control it. The ghost fought against my will and I grunted as I struggled to cease the transformation. I don't know why Vlad wants me to transform but I know it has something to do with securing his perfect clone. I won't give him anything! A jolt of pain shot through me and I screamed, losing control of the transformation. I quickly retrieved it, forcing it back in. More pain entered me.

What is causing this pain? The ghost kept trying to force me to transform while I fought against the sheer power. "Make it consistent," I heard Vlad declare. I looked up to see Mom walking to my pod. Then I noticed Mom was see-through. Oh, you have got to be kidding me.

Pain jolted through me and I screamed, losing the control over my own powers. I nearly transformed but I pushed away the pain to force it back down. The ghost kept trying to access my transformation power and with the pain it was almost tempting to give in but I held out. The hologram upped the pain and I screamed out. As I struggled with preventing a transformation, I allowed the power to mount. With the machine in overdrive, the sudden increase in power was too much. The machine exploded.

I transformed now that the machine was broken and floated out. Everything hurt and I hardly had any energy left. I felt the ghost pass through me and I gained full control. I flew away, desperately seeking a way out of here. I didn't want to be anywhere near Vlad ever again.

My strength returned partially and I landed in the garage. "Which way should I—," I started to wonder aloud when I was shot with a blast of energy. I landed in a granite cabinet.

"You're not going anywhere," Danielle declared. Great. I have to talk to her. I know where she came from now. I never in a million years imagined she was a clone but this girl becomes my sister. I have to save her too if I can. I can barely save myself. "Stop fighting! I know you're too weak to beat me."

"I'm not going to fight you," I declared, standing up. "Every time I fight a clone it turns to goop." We both looked down, her feet becoming green ectoplasm. She screamed, powering down her ectoplasmic blast. "You're not mindless like those other clones. I don't want to hurt you," I said, holding my hands up. Pain shot through my back and my abdomen and I knew I had to stop this. With so much stress, I'd go in premature labor again.

"Then let my father have your DNA so he can save me," she declared.

"He's not going to save you," I declared. "He's using you! You're nothing but a mess he's not going to clean up!"

Her eyes watered with tears and I thought I had got through to her but she narrowed her eyes. "You're lying," she declared. She shot me with a blast before I could plot my next move. Not like I had any energy to do anything, I thought before all went black again.

O_O

I woke up again, smoke drifting around Danielle as she secured me in the pod. "All secure, Dad," Danielle said, looking up to Vlad. Vlad was floating, holding his chin.

"I still don't know how I'm going to get him to change," Vlad said. "Unless… Unless you overshadow him for me, dear." Don't do it, Danielle. I won't be able to protect you and myself at the same time. "Force the transformation."

"But what if it's too much," Danielle said. "The last clone that tried that melted."

"It won't be," Vlad said, pretending to care about her. If he'd do this to his own flesh and blood daughter, he would never care what happens to you.

"But what if—," Danielle began.

"You exist to serve me," Vlad roared, his caring demeanor disappearing. I gasped as I saw the man who raped me return. "Just do it!"

Danielle's eyes filled with tears and I thought for a moment she would do it. However, that look of defiance crossed her face again, "You are not the boss of me!" She released my restraints. Now it's payback time.

"No," Vlad said, a little in shock. "No!"

I smashed out the glass, jumping out of the containment box. I looked to her, a smile enveloping on my face. "You're helping me now?"

"Do you want to ask questions or you wanna kick some butt," she repeated. Kick butt, definitely!

I triggered the rings and Danielle followed me. Within a split second, we sent Vlad careening backwards. Vlad smashed into the wall and something big collapsed on him. For once, hurting him didn't make me feel guilty in the least. Even when he was attacking my town or my family, retribution has always felt wrong. I was even afraid when he was raping me but I'm stronger now. I'm over him now. "Nice," I complimented her.

Vlad gasped and it brought my attention to what was going on. The clone's chamber had been what he crashed in and it was dissolving away. Vlad went nuts as it disappeared. Well, at least the last one has been taken care of. Vlad came to his feet, staring us down. I tasted fear and I looked down to see Danielle staring at him, terrified. "I can do this," she said, pushing away some of the fear.

"You don't have to," I replied, pushing her gently behind me. "Cover your ears, Danielle, and get behind me." I put my sights on Vlad, all the good times and the bad times running through my head. I saw the future where Sam and I were together. Where I was afraid Lilly would never forgive me for having feelings for Vlad still. It was a long road to haul but I could do it. I could get on with my life. This time, I'm not looking back. "Goodbye, baby," I said, quoting Taylor Swift's song 'Tied Together With A Smile'. He's finally went off the deep end. The rocker is no longer repairable. I took a deep breath, releasing the ghostly wail. Not a twinge of regret filled me.

Vlad was pushed against the wall, him helpless to my sonic attack. The building shook from the exertion and stones started to collapse but I kept it up. The lights started to flicker and sparks started to fly around his control center. The hologram of Mom appeared before Vlad. "Systems critical. Losing coherence. And I never loved you. I loved the Jack program," she said. I still kept it up.

"Vladdy," a hologram of Dad appeared, hugging the hologram of Mom. They kissed, dissolving away. I put the last bit of strength into it, Vlad breaking through the wall and crashing outside. My power flooded away and I collapsed to my knees.

"Out of power," I said weakly, "but worth it to take this place down." Not to mention to make it official. There's no coming back from this… for either of us.

Danielle gasped and I looked up to see Vlad charging for us. "Get away from him," Danielle declared.

"I don't think so, girl," Vlad taunted. On second thought, maybe it wasn't worth it. "You wouldn't dare use your powers again." Danielle was dissolving again. It's up to me. "He's beaten. This is over!" Vlad grunted, "Oh, what stupidity is this," he asked. I noticed the boomerang in his hand.

Danielle grabbed me and flew us out of the way as the Specter Speeder smacked into Vlad, busting through the wall behind where we were. It didn't completely crash through it but it left a sizable hole. The Specter Speeder pulled away and landed, Tucker jumping out. He slipped the Specter Deflector around Vlad's waist.

"Oh, man, am I glad to see you," I declared, walking over to them. My energy was slowly rebuilding but it was a long way away from being restored.

"Of course you are," Sam retorted. "We're here to save you." Danielle came over beside us, "And apparently, so is your cousin."

"I-I can't focus my powers," Vlad said weakly.

"Which means that I don't need mine to do this," Danielle declared. She decked him, stating, "So Dad, stay away from my cousin!"

"Do you have any idea how much trouble we're in," Tucker declared. "And for what? Not so much as a—."

I'm getting to it. I enveloped him in a hug, "Thank you!" I pulled Sam in, hugging them both tightly, "Thank you! Thank you! Thank you, you guys. I'll never take you for granted again! Thank you, thank you, thank you!"

"All right, dude," Tucker gasped. "We got it."

"Yeah," Sam said as I released her. "Apology accepted."

"And I wouldn't have gotten out of this without you, Danielle," I said, turning to her. She was gone. "Hey, where did she go?"

"I don't know," Sam replied. "She was just here."

"She does that a lot," I sighed. "Anyway, thank you, Danielle." I turned back to Sam and Tucker, "Can one of you get that Specter Deflector? I don't want him to have another one."

"Sure," Sam said. "But I think we should turn him in like you did Invincible."

"No," I said, my voice calm and level. "I just want to forget him."

"That's going to be hard to do with him becoming mayor next week," Tucker sighed.

"I know," I sighed as well, "but I'm on my way."

Sam grabbed the Specter Deflector and we boarded the Speeder. We flew back home.

O_O

"You three are in so much trouble," Mom, Dad and Mr. Lancer declared as we exited the Specter Speeder. What is he doing here?

"And what happened to my Specter Speeder," Dad demanded.

"We had a little accident," I replied.

"Where have you three been," Mom demanded.

"There was a concert today," Sam replied. "We wanted to go see it so we skipped school. It's no big deal."

"That is unacceptable," Mom declared. "Upstairs!"

"Fine," Tucker grumbled. We went upstairs and plopped down on the couch. I did not want to go through with this. Inside, I was dying. I was trying to hold myself together but the flight home had been enough to cool things down.

"You are in so much trouble," they declared again. I just lowered my head, not having the strength to fight.

"Skipping school, stealing and wrecking the Specter Speeder," Dad declared.

"Calling me old man," Mr. Lancer said scornfully. Okay, what's that about?

"Sam, Tucker, when I call your parents, you are going to be grounded but there's no need to call their parents, really. Right?"

"What," all three of us declared. That was weird.

"What," Mr. Lancer cried. "No, she's right. I mean, you could always build another S-ship thing, right?"

"Hey, that's true," Dad declared. "I'm going to build another ship thing right now!" I turned to Sam and Tucker as Dad ran down the steps all giddy. Okay, even this is weird enough to make me forget my broken heart.

"Let's go before they change their minds," Sam said. We ran upstairs. "Thanks for the save, Danny. I didn't know you could overshadow people from a distance."

"I can't," I declared. "I didn't."

"And the best part was I didn't even have to waste any energy on your dad," a voice declared. I turned to my window to see Danielle. "And it's Dani," Danielle said, "with an 'i' and don't worry. We'll see each other again." I watched in shock as she flew away. Dani.

Things were definitely different now and they would only continue to change. "Do you guys think you could give me some privacy," I asked. "I want to rest up."

"You're not going on patrol, are you," Sam asked.

"No," I sighed. "I'm too tired. I'll take tonight off and you guys need to as well."

"We will," Tucker said, putting his hand on my shoulder. "Get some rest, Danny. You've been through a lot."

"Yeah," I said softly. They didn't need to know how much. Sam and Tucker walked out of my room. I lay across my bed when I realized I hadn't shown them how much I care. I was just pushing them away again. I ran out the door, "Guys, wait up!" They turned around as I caught up to them. "Have I told you guys thank you?"

"Only about a million times," Sam groaned.

"Have I told you guys how much I appreciate you?"

"You don't need to," Tucker said. "We're your friends."

"Well, I need to. I owe you a lot," I said. "So, thank—."

"Enough," Sam and Tucker declared. I smiled.

"Bye, guys," I said softly. I turned back as they continued in the direction of Tucker's. I guess Sam will be staying there. I entered my room, lying across my bed. I wrapped my arms around my stomach. "What are we going to do, little one," I asked. I didn't ask her that question really. She didn't hear it and couldn't even if she wasn't asleep. Lilly was content again. The strain wasn't too much on her, thank God. "How could you do this to us, Vlad? It's hard enough for me to understand how you could do this to me but how could you sacrifice your daughter? I guess it all comes down to having a completely obedient bitch to give you that perfect son. Would you have allowed me to abort Lilly if you had known she wasn't a boy?"

Tears pricked at my eyes but I stubbornly wiped them away. There's no going back. There's no amount of talking his way out of this. He can look at me with those eyes and try to touch me all he wants. He cannot talk his way out of trying to kill his daughter… my daughter. Vlad, there is only one person more important to me than you and you messed with her. Lilly has nothing to do with you now. Now I could kill you and not blink.

My heart was shattering but I was too angry to cry. I pulled the pillow to my chest, holding it tightly. I'd kill Vlad if he comes after my daughter. Lilly is nothing to him and I'll be damned if he thinks he can try to talk his way out of this.

It's over.

**AN: And that's it for New Beginnings! For those of you who are wondering, yes, Danny's family and friends will find out about Lilly. Just not right away. I write realistically and no one is going to accuse Danny of being pregnant—no matter how much he resembles it. In all honesty, Sam and Tucker should have already figured it out but they are swimming in denial. Check out Danny's Story, Part 3: Deliverance. It starts tomorrow!**

**As promised, I will begin working on the Chapter Companions for the remaining of this story. I apologize for those of you who read them but I will not continue the Chapter Companions for the other three stories. I will write Question Answers and post them on the forum page but you will not see any more Chapter Companions on my profile page. I will be writing a story companion for the first two installments of Danny's Story for anyone who wants to refresh their memory.**

**Thank you for sticking with me.**

**Team04Phantom**


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